The largest US cryptocurrency exchange laid off 1100 employees

After announcing plans to restructure on June 14, the largest US crypto exchange Coinbase did not hesitate — yesterday, the company’s CEO Brian Armstrong wrote a letter explaining the reasons for this action.

«In early 2021, we had 1250 employees,» Armstrong wrote. «At that time, we were at the beginning of a bull market, and the proliferation of crypto products was growing rapidly. New uses for cryptocurrency were emerging almost every week. We saw the opportunities, but we needed to significantly increase our team to be able to compete across a wide range of issues. Given the scale of our growth, it was difficult to grow at the right pace. Although we tried our best to get it right, in this case it is clear to me now that we hired too many people.»

Armstrong, however, said he takes full responsibility for the disaster and described a package designed to help affected employees that includes:

• At least 14 weeks of severance pay plus two additional weeks for each year of service.
• Four months of health insurance for U.S. employees and four months of mental health support for international employees.
• Access to the Coinbase Talent Hub team, which will work with laid-off employees to find jobs at other firms.

The cuts will leave Coinbase with about 5,000 employees and cost the company $ 40 million in related costs — almost all of which will be severance packages.

«Within the next hour, every employee will receive an email from Human Resources informing them whether or not you have been laid off,» Armstrong wrote. At the same time, employees received the decision (in case of dismissal) by personal email, because by that time their work account had already been blocked.