eBay and PayPal split necessitates job cuts

Friday, January 23, 2015 - 09:32 by Simon Crisp

This week it was revealed that about 2,400 people will be losing their jobs as a result of the breakup of online auction site, eBay, and payments company, PayPal, according to BBC News.

This represents a seven per cent decrease in workforce for the organisation, in spite of the fact that its performance over the past three months has actually exceeded the expectations of industry analysts.

When PayPal is made independent later in 2015, it is expected that investors will be given more control over the firm.

In the final three months of 2014, eBay managed to rake in $4.9 billion (£3.2 billion) in sales made via safe shopping online. And although there was scepticism over how well it will fare once PayPal is disgorged from its control, there is growing confidence that it will continue to be a major force in the world of e-commerce.

At the other end of the e-commerce news spectrum, it was reported this week that Amazon has had to stop the sale of nappies marketed under its own brand, as a result of failings in the design of these essential baby products, according to the Guardian.

Amazon has launched a range called Elements, which is essentially a way for people to buy large quantities of products at a low price, as long as they are members of the Prime scheme.

But while other retailers tend to make their own-brand goods more affordable by cutting corners, Amazon has been keen to emphasise that these are quality products for premium buyers.

However, with lots of complaints from customers who purchased the nappies online, Amazon has decided to pull them from sale and go back to the drawing board, before venturing further with this particular product line.