PayPal to lay off 2500 employees amid intensifying competition

In a strategic move to "right-size" the company, PayPal is set to cut 2,500 jobs, constituting 9% of its global workforce. CEO Alex Chriss conveyed that this decision involves both direct reductions and the elimination of open roles, with affected staff to be notified by week's end.The digital payments giant is facing heightened competition from formidable rivals such as Apple, Zelle, and Block. Alex Chriss, who assumed the role of CEO last year from software company Intuit, aims to steer PayPal towards growth amid a challenging landscape.Investors had anticipated a positive impact from Chriss's leadership, given the company's share price decline of over 20% in the past year. November marked the release of PayPal's first earnings under the new CEO, surpassing analysts' expectations and instilling hope in investors that the company's turnaround was gaining traction.Attempting to stay ahead in the market, PayPal recently unveiled new artificial intelligence-driven products and a one-click checkout feature. However, these efforts come in the wake of a broader trend in the technology sector, with several giants, including Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, TikTok, and Salesforce, announcing over 25,000 job cuts in the past month alone.Block, led by Twitter's co-founder Jack Dorsey, has also initiated job cuts as part of its plan to reduce its workforce by 1,000 by year-end. Executives across the industry have attributed job losses to the aftermath of the pandemic hiring spree and high inflation, resulting in weakened consumer demand.Despite the challenges, some technology industry workers are pushing back. A union representing Google workers recently criticised the company for cutting hundreds of jobs while maintaining substantial annual profits.