PayPal to close its San Francisco office

Major U.S.-based payment processor PayPal is reportedly closing its San Francisco office, while its headquarters in nearby San Jose remains open to employees

The payments company, whose Xoom unit handles international digital money transfers, will close its offices in downtown San Francisco, according to a TechCrunch report Wednesday. At press time, PayPal had multiple job listings for San Francisco, as well as 17 other U.S. locations and 32 international locations.

A spokesperson for PayPal reportedly suggested that the purpose of the closure is for the company to evaluate its "global office footprint." Another PayPal person familiar with the company's internal situation said that employees who lost their jobs in San Francisco also had the option to work remotely.

PayPal released its earnings report for the first quarter of 2022 on Wednesday, reporting that the company's total payment volume was $323 billion and transaction revenue totaled about $6.5 billion. The latter includes fees for facilitating the "buying and selling of cryptocurrencies."

Since announcing that it will accept cryptocurrency payments in 2021, PayPal has entered the digital asset space by exploring the development of stablecoins. Additionally, the payments company formed an advisory board in February aimed at supporting efforts related to cryptocurrencies, blockchain and digital currencies.

The San Francisco Bay Area is home to many major crypto and tech companies, but some have pulled out in recent years, likely due to employees willing to accept remote working conditions during the pandemic. Major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced in May 2021 that it would close its San Francisco headquarters in 2022 as part of its "remote-first" commitment.

Kraken CEO Jesse Powell also said in April that the company had closed its global headquarters in the Bay City city following reports that several of its employees were "assaulted, harassed and robbery".