eBay’s PayPal spends $15M to ‘consolidate’ its product groups, cutting 325 employees and 120 contractors

Ebay has dumped 325 employees and 120 contractors in what it is calling a ‘consolidation’ of its PayPal product groups. The restructuring is expected to cost the company $15M over the fourth quarter.

The consolidation will take 9 product groups and compress them into a singe group which controls PayPal products globally. “The reduction results from a redesign of PayPal’s product organization, consolidating nine product groups into a single, more agile organization, says eBay. “The intent is to simplify and speed up how products are developed.”

The stripping down of PayPal’s product group is part of its efforts to become a lighter, faster company, and doesn’t reflect any direct issues with earnings. PayPal ended the third quarter with 117.4 million active registered accounts, a 14% increase over the third quarter of 2011. Revenue increased 23% year over year. eBay also posted strong results, with $3.4B in revenue.

Image credit: Sean Gallup/Staff