Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong recently announced that the firm is laying off 14% of its workforce; that’s about 700 roles.
Here’s the latest.
Coinbase cuts off 14% of staff
Armstrong attributed the move to a combination of a “down market” and rapid gains in AI-led productivity.
Going ahead, the organizational hierarchy will be compressed to a maximum of five layers below the CEO and COO; traditional management-only roles are being phased out. Therefore, leaders are now expected to function as active contributors, in some cases supervising fifteen or more direct reports.
He noted how engineers are delivering projects in days that previously took weeks; non-technical staff are also contributing to production-level code. Moreover, hiring will now focus on smaller, “AI-native” teams. This could mean just one individual handling multiple roles.
In his company-wide letter, Armstrong assured that,
The Coinbase that emerges from this will be more capable than ever to achieve our mission.
In response to the news, Base creator Jesse Pollak also posted on X, stating,
today we said goodbye to some talented people who helped build base. deeply grateful for everyone’s contributions
Industry-wide AI-led job cuts rise
Across tech and crypto, companies are reallocating capital toward automation.
Notably, Meta reduced its employee base by around 8,000 employees last month (roughly 10%). Microsoft followed with buyouts impacting about 7% of its employees in the same period.
Crypto firms are moving in the same direction as well. MARA Holdings cut 15% of staff while making the move towards AI data centers. In February, Block Inc. laid off over 4,000 roles under Jack Dorsey, and in March, the Algorand Foundation reduced its workforce by 25%.
Coinbase’s affected employees will lose system access immediately, while U.S.-based staff are being offered at least 16 weeks’ pay, plus two additional weeks per year of service, equity vesting, and six months of healthcare coverage.
Final Summary
- Coinbase fires 14% of its employees; AI reduces hiring needs.
- This is the latest in a series of big layoffs, following Meta, Microsoft, MARA, and the Algorand Foundation.