Coinbase has reduced the size of its workforce by 18%
Coinbase, a digital currency exchange, has chosen to lay off 18 percent of its workforce in the midst of the crypto market chaos. Following the company's initial plans to pause the hiring process and cancel a number of job offers, the company made the statement.
Coinbase's CEO Brian Armstrong wrote a blog post on June 14 that was published on the company's website. Armstrong's letter was published via a Tweet, which stated: Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced today the painful choice to cut the size of the Coinbase team by 18%. Brian's email to workers, which has been made public for anyone to read, has further facts and logic, the firm added. “The decision was taken to keep Coinbase healthy,” according to Armstrong's letter. “To ensure that we remain strong throughout this economic downturn, I am making the difficult decision to reduce our employment by about 18% today,” Armstrong wrote. “I'll explain why I've made this decision further below, but first, I'd want to take responsibility for how we got here. I'm the CEO, and I'm responsible for everything.”
"Economic conditions are swiftly shifting," Armstrong added, noting that "controlling our expenses is crucial in down markets." Coinbase "expanded too rapidly," he added. Armstrong said that the Human Resources (HR) department will send a letter to all workers which tells that they "are affected or unaffected by this layoff." Employees who are laid off will get at least 14 weeks of severance pay, four months of COBRA health insurance, and access to the Talent Hub.
Coinbase joins the layoff trend, as COIN shares are down 85%.
Following in the footsteps of a spate of other cryptocurrency startups, Coinbase has laid off 18 percent of its workforce. Blockfi slashed workers by 20% on Monday, according to sources, while Crypto.com's CEO stated the exchange had to lay off 260 people. "Our strategy is to keep focused on delivering against our roadmap while also optimizing for profitability," said Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek. Buenbit, Bitso, Rain Financial, 2TM, and Gemini are among the other crypto-focused firms that have reduced their workforce. Coinbase's layoffs coincide with a sharp dip in the company's stock price. COIN is currently selling at $49.35 per share, down 85.54 percent from its launch price of $342.
