PayPal is preparing to cut around 20% of its global workforce over the next two to three years, eliminating more than 4,500 positions to generate at least $1.5B in savings as part of new CEO Enrique Lores's turnaround strategy. The announcement comes as PayPal battles slowing growth and intense competition from Apple Pay and newer fintech entrants, with Coinbase announcing its own 14% workforce reduction (roughly 700 jobs) just hours after the PayPal news. The cuts follow a broader trend of fintech companies using AI to reduce headcount, though some companies including Klarna and Block have quietly begun rehiring workers after their initial AI-driven cuts went too deep, with rehiring and retraining costs eroding much of the original savings.
