Angus Kidman19 December 2008, 4:30 PM
eBay has capped off a troublesome year with Australian chief Simon Smith qutting. Yep, he's the one who made that remark likening eBay users to heroin junkies.
Earlier this week, eBay quietly announced that vice president Smith was leaving the organisation. Smith, who has run the Australian outpost for eight years ,said that structural changes made it a logical time to leave. "Given that recent changes to the organisation are now complete, it seems an appropriate time for me to move on," he said in a statement.
Longtime eBay watchers might take a different view. Smith's most infamous moment came earlier this year during eBay's failed attempt to make PayPal the sole means of paying for transactions on the site. During a conflict-filled public meeting, he compared opponents to the plan to drug addicts: "We're not allowing people to offer unsafe choices, just like in this democracy you can't go out and buy heroin on the streets."
eBay ultimately had to cancel the plan after the ACCC expressed concerns, but did stick with one element of the scheme: all listings now have to include PayPal as a payment option.
While the PayPal debacle wouldn't have helped, eBay has been having a difficult year in the market across the globe. In October, it announced plans to cut its global workforce by 10%. The change in approach is reflected in the status of his replacement, Deborah Sharkey, who takes on the title of managing director rather than vice-president.