By the end of Q1 2009, eBay will shut down its operations in Poland, as well as in the majority of the 39 countries in which it has localized online-auction services. Operations in Europe will be run from London, Bern and Zurich. The shutdown will result in about 1,000 of its 16,000 employees being laid off.
While eBay is closing its Polish office, the firm has assured the public that its website will operate as usual. The company had maintained a marketing department in Poland, which employed only a few people, and this will be shut. Customer service for Poland has been located in Berlin since the Polish service launched.
"People who stay in the company will be moved to eBay's headquarters, or will be employed in PayPal or Skype," said Karol Świtała, spokesperson at eBay.pl.
Company officials believe changes in the corporate structure should bring about savings of $70-80 (zł.176-202) million by the end of the year. According to eBay.pl's spokes-person, the company's reports reveal 80-percent y/y growth.
According to Magda Borowik, an analyst with IT research firm IDC Polska, the current financial crisis is a reason for the reorganization. "The savings they announced might not be substantial, but in the current situation every penny counts," she explained to Rzeczpospolita.
Krzysztof Komorowski, an expert at the Sobieski Institute think-tank specializing in new technologies, told WBJ that eBay had underestimated the Polish online auction market, which continues to be dominated by Allegro.pl.
"The magic of the eBay brand, in this case, didn't do the trick," he said in explaining why eBay is not as successful in Poland as it is abroad. Komorowski believes this is an example of a first-mover advantage. In this case, because Allegro.pl was the first company offering online auctions in Poland, Poles simply got used to the brand.
