“A recession could lead to another crypto winter and it could last for an extended period,” he stated. “While it is difficult to predict the economy or the markets, we always plan for the worst so that we can operate the business in any environment.”
Last month, Coinbase said it would slow its hiring pace and rescinded offers to employees who had already accepted jobs. Going into 2022, the company had planned to triple its headcount, Chief Operating Officer Emilie Choi said last month, but that goal has been shelved.
Employees affected by the job cuts would receive a notification in their personal email because Coinbase cut off their access to the company’s systems, Armstrong said. Affected employees are expected to receive at least 14 weeks of severance pay plus an additional two weeks for each year of employment beyond one year.
They would also get four months of health insurance and four months of worldwide mental health support. They would also have access to the company’s talent hub, where Coinbase plans to work to connect affected employees with open positions at other companies. The layoffs come when the prices of the largest cryptocurrencies fall. Bitcoin recently traded below $22,000, while Ethereum traded below $1,200.
The fall in cryptocurrency prices has hit Coinbase shares. The shares traded more than 6% lower, at $48.79 a share, in premarket trading. Shares are down almost 80% so far this year, before Tuesday’s implied losses.
Coinbase is not alone
Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com and lending platform BlockFi also plan to cut a total of more than 400 jobs. Crypto.com will cut nearly 5% of its workforce (or about 260 employees), CEO Kris Marszalek said in a tweet over the weekend.
BlockFi also said it would cut its workforce in a Twitter thread on Monday. CEO Zac Prince said “approximately 20%” of his employees will leave,” which would equate to around 170 people.
The firms join other major crypto firms laying off employees amid a turbulent market downturn.
Gemini, the exchange led by the Winklevoss twins, cut around 10% of its workforce and Middle Eastern crypto exchange Rain Financial said it was cutting dozens of jobs.
“Our approach is to stay focused on executing our roadmap and optimizing profitability while doing so…That means making the tough and necessary decisions to ensure continued, sustainable long-term growth by making targeted reductions of approximately 260 employees, or 5 % of our corporate workforce,” Marszalek concluded in a Twitter thread.
Source: Ambito
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