PayPal's new CEO bets on AI to replace a fifth of the company

PayPal plans to cut about 20% of its global workforce - roughly 4,760 of 23,800 jobs - over the next two to three years under new CEO Enrique Lores. The restructuring targets $1.5 billion in annual savings, with accelerated AI adoption named as a core driver expected to contribute about 40% of the total. Lores took over in March 2026 after running HP. Calcalist reports that the first rounds began this week, with employees called in first in Asia-Pacific and then in Europe and the Middle East. In Ireland PayPal plans to lay off 164 people, about 12% of its staff there, and dozens are going in Israel, where 200 to 250 people, most of them data scientists and software engineers, work on security systems and parts of the mobile apps. The Tel Aviv centre grew out of the 2008 acquisition of Fraud Sciences and builds the machine-learning systems that screen billions of transactions for fraud and money laundering. "Decisions of this kind are not easy, and we are well aware of their impact on our employees," the company said. "We are committed to standing by them and providing them with full support during this period of change."