Ebay Cutting 10% Workforce

We are always following the latest layoffs regarding Internet web sites. Many of us work from home, many of us make our income via online auctions, so this is important news. According to the NY Times...

The Internet company, eBay, announced Monday that it was laying off 10 percent of its work force, or about 1,000 permanent employees and several hundred temporary workers.

The announcement was largely unrelated to the potential economic impact of a slowdown in ecommerce. Rather, it represented an attempt by eBay to improve the performance of its core marketplace division, which has experienced declining, single-digit growth in the last few years while the rest of e-commerce grows at a double-digit clip. The company said it would take a pretax restructuring charge of $70 million to $80 million, largely in the fourth quarter.

“While never an easy decision to make, these reductions will help improve our operations and strengthen our ability to continue investing in growth,” John J. Donahoe, eBay’s chief executive, said in a statement.

The company also announced on Monday that it was acquiring Bill Me Later, an online payments firm based in Timonium, Md., for $945 million in cash and stock. eBay will combine the company, which enables payments online for companies like Wal-Mart Stores and Continental Airlines, with its rapidly growing PayPal division.

“We are making aggressive moves to strengthen our leadership positions in e-commerce and payments to competitively position our company for long-term growth,” Mr. Donahoe said. “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.”

Keeping internet payments safe should be the first priority.

Today's investment tip: Right now, due to the war in Iraq, and the current financial crisis, invest your money in gold ;)