The company said it expects to incur between $70m and $80m in restructuring charges related to the job cuts, which will be completed by year end, but expects annual savings of $150m as a result of the cuts. This is the second round of layoffs by the company this year after it cut 125 jobs in Europe and North America in March.
However, it also announced the $945m acquisition of US online payment company Bill Me Later, which it said it plans to merge with its PayPal payment division. In addition it said it has paid $390m for Denmark’s Den Blaa Avis, which operates two classified advertising sites: Dba.dk and Bilbasen.dk.
Jacob Aqraou, general manager of global classifieds business unit at eBay, said: Classifieds are the preferred e-commerce format in Denmark and represent an attractive and growing market. With more than 25 years of classifieds success in Denmark, Den Bla Avis and BilBasen are household names with Danish consumers.
EBay, headquartered in San Jose, California, also owns PayPal, Skype and Gumtree and is also a shareholder in Craigslist, an online community offering classified adverts and forums.
The company has recently been involved in a number of court cases over the sale of fake luxury goods. EBay won its case against jeweller Tiffany, successfully arguing that its policy of removing an item from sale if a complaint is received is sufficient.
