E-commerce platform Ebay is set to lay off 500 employees globally – about 4 per cent of its workforce.

On Tuesday, Ebay CEO Jamie Iannone said the decision was made after considering the effects of the “current macroeconomic situation around the world” and to better evolve the organisation into the next step of its strategy.

When approached for comment, an Ebay Australia spokesman would not say how many staff in Australia will be laid off and would not comment further

“Today’s actions are designed to strengthen our ability to deliver better end-to-end experiences for our customers and to support more innovation and scale across our platform,” Iannone said in a letter to employees.

“They also help us make sure we’re concentrating on where we can make the biggest impact, including expanding focus categories, creating trusted experiences and investing in new technologies,” said Iannone.

He added the shift will give additional space to invest and create new roles in “high-potential areas” such as new technologies, customer innovations and key markets.

“Thank you for your incredible talent, passion, and achievements to help get us to where we are today. I’m so grateful for the impact that you made at Ebay,” he said.