Online retailer eBay is set to cut thousands of jobs as it spins off its PayPal unit.

eBay spokeswoman Amanda Miller refused to specifically comment on whether the company was considering layoffs, but the Wall Street Journal said that the outfit is planning to decimate its ranks by 10 percent.

That would mean about 3,000 employees leaving the building with their belongings in a photocopy box.

Most of the cuts are expected to be localised in the company's marketplace division, the report said.

The spin-off, announced in September, highlighted the slowing growth of eBay's traditional marketplace business.