eBay cuts 18 jobs in Australia
- 7th October 2008
INTERNET auctioneer eBay, which announced overnight that it was cutting 1600 staff around the globe, says 18 of those jobs would be axed in Australia.
eBay, which operates in 39 markets, said it was streamlining its organisation to make it more effective and competitive in the difficult economic climate.
"The most important thing for people to understand is that we are streamlining the organisation to make decision-making a little faster," spokesman for eBay Australia Daniel Feiler said.
Mr Feiler said the Australian team would be cut by 18.
He would not say how many staff eBay employs in its Sydney office or what roles would be cut.
"There are a variety of roles," he said.
Mr Feiler said the staff cuts would have no impact on customer support in Australia.
"What is really important for the users...is that there will be no impact on the existing customer support to Australians," he said.
Overnight, Silicon Valley-based eBay Inc said it would lay off about ten per cent of its global workforce, while spending over $US1 billion to acquire companies to enhance its business.
About 1000 full-time employees would go. The remainder of the cuts would be achieved by letting temporary and part-time workers go and by leaving positions unfilled.
The company plans to bolster its operations with the purchase of US online payments company Bill Me Later, for about $US820 million in cash and $US125 million in outstanding options, and Danish online classifieds business Den Bla Avis and BilBasen for about $US390 million in cash.
- © AAP
