Layoffs at the online payments system company come as more than 28,000 other jobs have been cut by tech firms already this year.

Online payment firm PayPal is slashing its global workforce by approximately 9 percent this year—amounting to roughly 2,500 job losses—as it becomes the latest tech company to announce layoffs.

Alex Chriss, president and CEO of the firm, announced the cuts in a message first shared internally with employees on Jan. 30.

The same message was published on PayPal’s official website shortly after the market closed.

Mr. Chriss told employees that the “difficult” job cuts are part of PayPal’s efforts to “build a growth organization” and unlock its “true potential.”

The cuts will “right-size” the tech giant while simultaneously allowing it to “move with the speed needed to deliver” for its customers and “drive profitable growth,” he said.

PayPal—which employed about 29,900 people at the end of 2022, according to the company—will eliminate both vacant positions and open roles as part of the layoffs.

“During the last few months, I have spent as much time as possible with as many of you as possible to learn about our company’s great strengths, as well as where we need to move faster, where we need to change, and what we need to do to instill a culture of innovation that returns our company to the true position of strength it deserves,” Mr. Chriss said.

“While I have been encouraged by the innovation our team is delivering, we must execute faster and ensure we are focused on solving our customers’ most critical needs and problems.”

Some Jobs to Be Automated

Mr. Chriss noted that some of the job roles within PayPal will also be automated as part of cost-cutting efforts in 2024, which he called the “year of change.”

Last week, the company stated that it planned to push a string of new products driven by artificial intelligence (AI), including AI-powered recommendations aimed at helping merchants reach new customers based on their prior shopping history and AI-powered insights that will optimize the checkout experience for consumers.

Read More Here