I'm not sure the trend is quite as it seems. Isn't it more the case that some big companies are more in trouble than others? So fashions and politics are changing so Facebook and Twitter (for different reasons) are in trouble and here we see PayPal cutting back but that may simply be that it no longer offers the advantages it once did. Some years ago I used it a lot as it was an easy way to pay but now I often use my credit card directly as more and more sites (at least those where I buy stuff) offer that as an option.

My point is that these companies and the likes of Google have problems that in some ways are quite specific to them and not necessarily a simple reflection of the market for IT professionals.

There's a bit of "employer's remorse" in companies probably taking on more employees during the era of easy money pandemic than they needed long term. But this is also a fairly typical response of listed companies with slack revenues: reducing the headcount makes the financials look better and keeps investors happy; this also ensure stock options vest. But we also need to remember that all capital intensive companies are particularly sensitive to changes in monetary policy: in the last twelve months, financing costs have gone from essentially zero to "significant". This was a long overdue correction but I've never met a capitalist who didn't cry fowl when debt-based financing no longer offered a premium over cashflow.

reducing the headcount makes the financials look better and keeps investors happy

There is that one simple trick that investors hate - let go of employees, bring in the contractors!

They typically don't make into a headcount.

My wife warned me when I entered private sector and worked in a public company that my ONLY job (regardless of my actual profession) was to increase shareholder value. I didn't believe it, but have seen too many decisions made to deliver double-digit returns to investors no matter what.

Ebay switching away to their own payment service won't have helped either.

I think it's basically been done by so many companies now that big institutional investors are talking to CEOs saying "where's your layoffs - we need to reduce costs so we can improve profits". I can imagine them rubbing their hands together like Tod Slaughter* in a 1930s melodrama.

* just look him up on Wikipedia, you'll see from the first picture exactly what I mean.

After they suspended the accounts of UsForThem (A charitable group supporting children's rights to stay in school) and The Free Speech Union (oh, the irony) for saying things that they didn't approve of (anti lockdown), I closed my PayPal account. I wrote to the UK CEO and others but heard nothing back. As far as I'm concerned they can burn.

If I ever come across a site which only accepts PayPal for payment, I'll be shopping somewhere else. They have earned a lifetime ban from me.

And as far as Alphabet / Google are concerned, they can also burn. They are currently suppressing a Project Veritas video where a Pfizer exec openly acknowledges they are carrying out gain-of-function research to get ahead of the game for the next variant of Covid. But you, dear commentard, probably don't know that because you are stuck in the Google Sphere. Interestingly Snopes doesn't seem to be able to find a digital presence for Jordan Trishtan Walker. Guess they have never heard of archive.org?

Is this the organisation "Project Veritas"?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Veritas

If so then they are not exactly a example of accuracy, restraint and moderation.

Yes, that's the one. I can see they have put out some dodgy content in the past, but it does look like in this particular case it's something to take a bit more seriously. Unless they actually staged the whole thing completely, which I suppose is possible but doesn't seem very likely. The guy seems to have disappeared from the internet (LinkedIN for example) although you can see that he did appear to work for Pfizer if you look on archive.org. If the whole thing is staged, then they have gone to GREAT LENGHTS to make it look genuine. I'm trying to keep an open mind.

With Wikepedia describing them as "far right" it does seem a bit excessive. What does that mean exactly? Anything to the right of Bernie Sanders? It does seem that Wikipedia have been taken over by the "progressive" left, and as someone down the middle I tend to distrust them too.

I guess you just trust all the Big Tech companies and they have all our best interests at heart, after all "Don't be Evil".

Even Snopes aren't actually discrediting this story.

These are tech companies, and they have probably automated a lot over the years, and now are realizing that "Hey, we can do it with less employees and save money!" Thanks for your help, there's the door, don't let it hit you on the ass on the way out!!

I once worked for a big faceless corp 30+ years ago, never again...

I'm a contractor, so I'm happy to let pretty much anyone pay me money in return for work. And no sour grapes when they decide they no longer need me. I'll go somewhere else. I would even take money from PayPal, but I just won't be giving them any of my money. I draw the line at actual dictatorships, but some of the Big Tech companies are starting to get pretty close. ;-)

Then the same companies, in few months' time, will be complaining there are shortages of workers and demanding from government "to do something" aka bring in more immigrants.

Why in the world does PayPal need 30,000 employees to build a website consisting of a simple form with a submit button?

Possible because (in my experience) if you need to contact them particularly by phone or chat, you get an answer pretty quickly.

Customer service costs money.