EBay's PayPal unit is planning layoffs in thecoming weeks as it tries to refocus and operate more like an agile startup thana large company, according to people familiar with the matter.
These people spoke on the condition of anonymity becausethey were not authorized to discuss the layoffs. Bloomberg reported on Fridaythat the cuts could affect as many as 400 jobs. PayPal has nearly 13,000employees.
In a statement, PayPal said it has told employees aboutplans to "strengthen and simplify" how it creates and delivers products.It said it has not yet discussed how these plans might affect jobs and did notconfirm or deny the possible layoffs.
Nonetheless, a person familiar with the matter said thatPayPal employees were told a few weeks ago that there would be a"reduction in workforce." The person did not know how many jobs wouldbe cut.
In a memo to staff sent on Friday, PayPal President DavidMarcus told employees they may hear "rumors floating around aboutlayoffs."
"What's not a rumor is that we are committed to changingthe way we build products and becoming a simple, customer-focused company. Wehaven't changed course on our vision, but as you know and have been advised, weneed to change our approach to how we will get it done," Marcus wrote inthe memo obtained by The Associated Press.
Marcus took PayPal's helm in April. He joined the companywhen eBay acquired his startup, mobile payments provider Zong, in August. EBayCEO John Donahoe said at the time that Marcus brings "startup energy"to PayPal.
ThinkEquity analyst Ronald Josey said the possible layoffsare not an indication of a weakness in PayPal or across eBay as a whole.
"Rather, we view it as part of relatively new PresidentMarcus' overall review of PayPal and his focus on returning the division to amore startup like and nimble environment within eBay," The analyst wrotein a note to investors.
On Monday PayPal also unveiled a marketing campaign aimed atpositioning itself as a customer-focused company that provides more than mobilewallet technology. It hired the actor Jeff Goldblum ("The Big Chill"and other films) to chat up PayPal as an all-purpose payments service in aseries of online videos.
The moves come as PayPal faces increasing competition in theworld of online and offline payments services from the same types of startupsthat Marcus is trying to emulate.
