- Coinbase will be firing 950 employees in order to reduce its operating expenses
- The exchange made a similar move in November 2022 and June 2022
Coinbase, one of the largest crypto exchanges in America, announced another round of layoffs earlier today. In a blog post, CEO Brian Armstrong stated that the exchange would further cut its total employee strength by 950. Additionally, Armstrong believes there could be more contagion from the fallout of big crypto platforms. He said,
“I’ve made the difficult decision to reduce our operating expense(1) by about 25% Q/Q, which includes letting go of about 950 people(2). All impacted team members will be informed by today.”
Coinbase prioritizing reducing expenses
Notably, the exchange made a similar decision back in November 2022. And, according to the CEO, the latest round would probably not be the last one. In addition, the exchange will also be closing some of its low-succeeding projects. The crypto exchange CEO stated that the details on this would be provided in its 8-K filing and Q4 earnings call.
Moreover, Armstrong stated that this move was necessary to reduce the platform’s expenses given what was ahead for it this year. The CEO further noted that this would “increase our chances of doing well in every scenario.” He said,
“While it is always painful to part ways with our fellow colleagues, there was no way to reduce our expenses significantly enough, without considering changes to headcount.”
Armstrong also stated that the exchange would be providing transition support to employees losing their job. Those based in America would be provided with base pay, health insurance, and other perks for a minimum of 14 weeks. Employees working on a work visa would be getting additional support as well. Meanwhile, global employees will be treated as per the job termination laws in their residing country.
Coinbase: A series of layoffs
Notably, this is not the first time the exchange has made a similar move in this bear market. In November 2022, Coinbase reportedly fired over 60 employees from its recruiting and institutional team. And prior to this, another huge round of firing took place at the onset of the bear market.
In June 2022, the crypto exchange bid goodbye to 18% of its staff, i.e., 1,100 employees. Then too, the CEO had pinned the blame on crypto winter and the recession. This firing round came after the exchange had put a halt on its hiring plan and rescinded its job offers.
