San Francisco - Online commerce giant eBay is to fire 10 per cent of its workforce, or about 1,400 workers, the company said Monday. The Silicon Valley internet pioneer also announced that it was acquiring online payments firm Bill Me Later for 945 million dollars in cash and stock. eBay will combine the company, which processes online payments for companies like Wal-Mart Stores and Continental Airlines, with its rapidly growing PayPal division.
In addition the company announced that it was expanding its stable of European classified websites with the 390-million-dollar acquisition of popular Danish classified advertising sites DBA.dk and BilBasen.
The moves came as eBay is struggling to find complimentary businesses to its sagging auctions activity which has seen only single digit growth in recent years as the rest of the e-commerce grows at a double-digit rate.
The company's struggles come despite its attempts to boost revenues by encouraging commercial sellers with rates that are preferable to those offered to the small sellers that were the foundation of its earlier success.
"We are making aggressive moves to strengthen our leadership positions in e-commerce and payments to competitively position our company for long-term growth," saideBay's CEO John Donahoe. "Bill Me Later is a perfect complement to our portfolio, a company that belongs with PayPal. Together, PayPal and Bill Me Later will make online payments safer, easier and more convenient than ever."
