eBay Cutting Staff, Buying Companies

eBay(EBAY Quote) said it plans to reduce its global work force by about 10%, while announcing two major acquisitions.

eBay said the job cuts will affect about 1,000 employees in addition to several hundred temporary workers and the reduction of open positions. eBay said the cuts are intended to "simplify and streamline eBay's organization, improve the company's cost structure and strengthen the overall competitiveness of the company's existing businesses." The company will record pretax restructuring charges of about $70 million to $80 million, predominantly in the fourth quarter.

The company said it plans to acquire the U.S.-based online payments business Bill Me Later for about $820 million in cash and about $125 million in outstanding options. eBay also said it plans to acquire Denmark's leading online classifieds site dba.dk and vehicles site bilbasen.dk for about $390 million in cash. ...