PayPal cuts 220 jobs in India as part of its cost-cutting, restructuring measures

PayPal, the digital payment platform, is laying off 4% of its employees in India, over 220 employees, as part of a broader global restructuring to streamline operations and reduce costs. According to a Moneycontrol report, employees have been impacted in three regions, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, and across several teams, including technology, engineering, operations, payments, and finance, among others.

PayPal Spokesperson told Business Today that “The recent staffing changes are part of our previously announced multi-year transformation to simplify our global operations, strengthen execution, and position the company for long-term growth. Decisions like these are never easy. We recognise the impact they have on our employees and are committed to supporting them through this transition.”

PayPal layoffs

Earlier this year, PayPal was reported to have cut around 20% of its employees worldwide. However, the cuts were expected to happen over several years, rather than all at once. Around 4,760 jobs were expected to be affected as the company plans to speed up the adoption of AI and lower operating costs.

In India, the company has over 6000 employees, and a 4% cut covers the majority of its employees. In addition, it is suggested that the layoffs will take place in phases globally. PayPal could first cut jobs in the Asia-Pacific region, including India, and employees across the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa are also expected to be impacted. 

PayPal also reportedly cut around 164 jobs in Ireland, equivalent to about 12% of its workforce there.

PayPal's India presence

PayPal has a major technology presence in India across three major centres: Chennai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad. The company opened its first development centre in Chennai back in 2008, which was described as the company’s largest technology centre outside the US. This plant is working on core payment systems, cloud infrastructure, mobile products, and distributed computing. It has an innovation lab in Bengaluru that focuses on newer technologies such as AI, machine learning, computer vision, and data science. Lastly, its third technology hub is in Hyderabad, which focuses on risk management, fraud prevention, and data science. 

However, amid industry and AI pressure, the company has planned major cost-cutting measures. However, PayPal is not the only company impacted. Recently, several tech giants, including Apple, Oracle, Uber, and other have reduced their workforce for similar reasons.