Business
PayPal’s new CEO makes Venmo a standalone business unit as potential buyers circle
Enrique Lores, then-CEO of Hewlett-Packard speaks on CNBC outside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 22, 2025.
Gerry Miller | CNBC
PayPal CEO Enrique Lores has this week told managers that he is reorganizing the firm’s reporting lines to separate Venmo, the popular mobile payments app, from the company’s other operations, CNBC has learned exclusively.
Venmo will soon be its own standalone segment within PayPal, making it easier to track its progress or potentially sell the business to another company, said people with knowledge of the changes.
PayPal is looking to recruit a digital banking executive to run the new Venmo segment, said the people, who asked not to be named because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly
The other two segments will be a PayPal-branded business for merchants and consumers and a payment services unit that includes its Braintree unit and crypto operations, the people said.
Lores, who spent six years as CEO of computer maker HP before stepping in as PayPal CEO in March, is betting that a sharper corporate structure can reignite growth at a company that has lost ground to Apple, Google and Stripe in the battle over e-commerce transactions. Lores replaced Alex Chriss, a former Intuit executive who struggled to revive a stock that had fallen roughly 80% from its pandemic-era peak.
PayPal’s precipitous share decline has attracted interest from potential bidders, including rival Stripe, for parts or all of the company, Bloomberg reported in February. The firm has hired bankers to gird itself against takeover bids or activist campaigns, according to Semafor.
PayPal declined to comment for this story.
Shares of PayPal spiked roughly 3% following publication of CNBC’s report.
Job cuts in limbo
The structural changes come mid the looming threat of a broad round of layoffs like those seen at payments rival Block. Earlier this year, PayPal managers were tasked by former CEO Chriss to come up with 15% head count reductions, but that effort was left in limbo when Chriss was replaced, said one of the people.
Venmo, with its nearly 100 million users, is viewed as arguably PayPal’s most valuable standalone asset because of its growth prospects. Analysts have said it is a key target for potential acquirers and could attract a premium valuation.
Amid the changes, two key executives, Diego Scotti, who ran the consumer group that included Venmo, and Michelle Gill, who oversaw a small-business group that is being dissolved, are departing, the people said. Scotti and Gill didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The firm will also stand up a new artificial intelligence transformation group led by Anshu Bhardwaj, a former Walmart tech executive, according to the people. A financial services unit that supports the other main business segments will be run by Scott Young, a former Goldman Sachs consumer banking manager, the people said.
PayPal reports first-quarter results next week.
The earlier plan, which would have seen the US government take effective ownership of as much as 90% of the airline, faced stiff opposition from Wall Street, Capitol Hill and even a member of Trump’s own cabinet. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Reuters a rescue would amount to tossing “good money after bad”.
Spirit Airlines check-in Kiosks sit idle at Oakland International Airport on August 13, 2025 in Oakland, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
Spirit Airlines could shut down as early as 3 a.m. ET Saturday, according to people familiar with the matter. The carrier has failed to secure a financial lifeline to continue operating, though it hasn’t commented on the potential shutdown or its plans.
About 290 Spirit flights are scheduled for Saturday, according to aviation site Flightradar24. Another 381 are scheduled for Sunday.
Travelers with Spirit tickets could be understandably rattled. While there have been some U.S. airlines to shut down in recent years, the budget carrier is larger than most recent airline failures and links major cities like New York, Miami, Detroit and Los Angles — and many others in between — with its Airbus jets.
Here’s what travelers need to know:
You have a Spirit ticket. What should you do?
Immediately? Nothing.
Travelers who are booked on a Spirit flight, like this CNBC reporter is for later this month, are likely to receive a refund if they purchased tickets with a credit card.
If the ticket was bought with a debit card or with loyalty points, however, the chances of recovering funds are slim to none, said Henry Harteveldt, founder of Atmosphere Research Group, a travel consulting firm.
“If you’re holding a reservation for a flight on Spirit don’t proactively cancel it. Wait for the airline to announce it is shutting down,” he said.
Would Spirit be able to help you at the airport?
Don’t count on it.
Spirit has declined to comment on a potential shutdown. If it confirms an end to operations, the carrier will most likely have information on its website about travelers’ next steps.
Harteveldt said travelers shouldn’t go to the airport expecting to find Spirit staff in the event the airline ceases operations. Call centers are likely to be overwhelmed if they are still staffed.
That could leave passengers with fewer answers than they’d like, but other airlines are likely to help assist affected customers.
Airlines that offer last-minute fares, likely with some discounts, will be available to travelers at airport ticket counters.
How can another airline help?
United Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Frontier Airlines and American Airlines are among the carriers that have said they are ready to assist Spirit customers and crews if the carrier shuts down.
That could mean scheduling additional flights to carry the stranded passengers, similar to what they do during a hurricane or other natural disaster.
Why could Spirit shut down?
Spirit, known for bright yellow planes, low fares and fees for everything else, had been successful for years, but this week it’s been on the brink of liquidation after failing to reach a deal with bondholders for a $500 million government bailout from the Trump administration.
Last year Spirit filed for its second bankruptcy in less than a year, though it’s had a host of problems even before then.
A plan to be acquired by JetBlue was blocked. Rising costs upended its business model. An engine defect grounded dozens of its planes. And, more broadly, upscale travel became more popular with consumers, driving airline profits.
At the same time, big, legacy airlines were selling their own basic economy fares that were similar to what Spirit was offering, but with bigger networks.
What does this mean for travel going forward?
Airlines have been adding flights since Spirit’s bankruptcy filing last year on some of its routes and at major airports. They’re likely to keep doing so.
Experts have said they expect fares to rise, at least in some markets, if the discounter goes away, even though the carrier has shrunk substantially.
Business
Middle East crisis: Air India to make food optional, help cut price of tickets – The Times of India
NEW DELHI: Desperate times call for desperate measures. Full service Air India is planning to make meals optional on its domestic and short international (under two hour) flights. Once this “unbundling” rolls out in the next month or two, passengers opting out of meals could have upwards of Rs 250 shaved off their ticket price. While this move, say people in the know, is “on the anvil,” the airline is looking at several other unprecedented measures to fly through the severe cost-revenue turbulence caused by the unending West Asia war.While not opting for meals could lead to slightly cheaper economy tickets, AI is looking at unbundling lounge access for business class passengers because those opting out of this, could get their tickets cheaper. On an average, lounge operators charge Rs 1,100-1,400 per user at metro airports and Rs 600-700 at non metros.The average spend is about Rs 1,000 per lounge. Many business class flyers are frequent travellers who just make it to airports in time for their flight and do not head to the lounge. If unbundled, this could be a saving in their ticket cost. Banks have been reducing lounge access for credit card users for the same reason to cut their costs.“From Day One, Air India has had meals bundled in its ticket price. Now the way aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price is rising and the rupee crashing since Feb 28, ticket prices are going up. India is a price-sensitive market and raising fares beyond a point leads to a fall in traffic with many opting to travel by train or road. This has led to the rethinking to unbundle meals on some flights. Other steps are also being considered,” said people in the know.Several airlines globally have over the past few years unbundled their onboard offerings. Many international full service airlines offer a basic meal in economy while giving the option of buying gourmet meals at an additional cost. Ditto for alcoholic beverages, with cheaper beer and wines being given at no extra cost while the others being charged for. “For passengers, the distinction between full service and low cost airlines is blurring very fast,” said an industry old-timer.
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