eBay is cutting about 9% of its staff in its second round of layoffs this year, and Comcast is reported to be planning cuts of its own

eBay will eliminate about 1,000 jobs, a spokesperson confirmed to Reuters on October 21, in a round of cuts announced to staff in an internal memo from chief executive Jamie Iannone. The company had 12,300 employees at the end of last year, so the reduction is roughly 9% of its workforce, Reuters reported. Affected employees are being notified in the coming days.

Why is eBay cutting now?

The memo frames the cuts as a reallocation rather than a retreat. Iannone wrote that the strategy is working and that the company wants to simplify operations and shift resources toward the parts of the business growing fastest. It is the second reduction this year: eBay cut about 800 jobs, or 6% of staff, in February. Its shares slipped 1.8% before the market opened but remain up nearly 40% this year, and the company reports quarterly earnings next week. Earlier this year eBay rejected an unsolicited $56 billion takeover approach from GameStop chief executive Ryan Cohen.

What about Comcast?

Bloomberg News reported on October 21, citing people familiar with the matter, that Comcast is planning a significant number of job cuts as it reorganizes its cable television, broadband and wireless operations, with announcements possible within weeks. Reuters, which carried the report, said it could not immediately verify it, and no figure was given. Comcast had not announced cuts as of publication.

The pattern

Large, profitable companies cutting staff while describing their strategy as successful has become common in 2026, often alongside heavy investment in automation and AI. For smaller employers in the same markets, rounds like these tend to loosen hiring for technical and operations roles for a few months.