Gamestop CEO Outlines Job Cuts, Spending Proposals as He Tries to Buy eBay

GameStop’s CEO Ryan Cohen is making a curious bid for online marketplace eBay, and he’s being candid about his plans to renovate the company. “I’m not going to run it hot,” he says.

Cohen recently put in an unsolicited bid for eBay for $56 billion, citing hopes to make the e-commerce company a bigger competitor to Amazon. In an interview with TBPNCohen has begun to outline his plans for the future of the company.

“You look at eBay spending $2.5 billion to grow 1 million users. $2 billion in cost cuts between sales and marketing and corporate overhead — it’s not a lot. And it’s not something that’s going to take a few years. It’s something that is going to happen fast, fast, fast. Because I’m putting leverage on this thing, and I don’t want to run a leveraged business.”

Cohen told TBPN that GameStop is a “dog” that has had life brought into it over and over, and that name-brand recognition could boost sales marketing-wise. The Wall Street Journal notes that GameStop has built a 5% stake in eBay over the years. eBay said it was reviewing the offer and GameStop’s ability to deliver a “binding, actionable proposal”.

Solo Bidding War

GameStop’s recent bid has caught financial analysts by surprise, perhaps due to the retailer’s recent economic standing. In fiscal 2024, the company closed roughly 600 U.S. stores, and it shut down approximately 1,000 stores globally by March 2025.

GlobalData retail analyst Neil Saunders described the proposal on CNN as “a David trying to take over a Goliath in order to buy David relevance.” Saunders told CNN that the bid feels like an attempt from GameStop as a company that is “grappling” with a reason to be around. “eBay is a successful business that has a very clear proposition, a clear rationale for existence,” he said.

On TBPNCohen stated he is “going to increase earnings” for eBay by running it like a family business. “They’re spending $5.5 billion on operating expenses. On an $11 billion business that has no inventory and is asset-light.” The CEO questioned eBay’s need for 11,000 employees and noted that its simple web design should be a reason for it to be profitable with low effort. “It looks the same as it did in 1995.”

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