Coinbase, a major cryptocurrency exchange, has fired about 1,100 people, 18% of its employees, and the CEO admits that it has 'grown too fast'



Coinbase , the largest crypto exchange in the United States, announced on June 14, 2022 that it will dismiss about 1,100 people, or 18% of all employees. Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, apologized to employees for this decision, stating that 'we have grown too fast.'



A message from Coinbase CEO and Cofounder, Brian Armstrong | by Coinbase | Jun, 2022 | The Coinbase Blog
https://blog.coinbase.com/a-message-from-coinbase-ceo-and-cofounder-brian-armstrong-578d76eedb12

Coinbase lays off 18 percent of staff as CEO says, “We grew too quickly” | Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/06/coinbase-lays-off-18-percent-of-staff-as-ceo-says-we-grew-too-quickly/

The cryptocurrency market in 2022 has been turbulent, and major cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin have plummeted. As a result, several cryptocurrency exchanges have carried out restructuring, and Coinbase announced on June 3 that the offer of new employees will be cancelled. Meanwhile, Coinbase CEO Armstrong sent a message to all employees on June 14, saying, 'Today, I have a difficult time reducing the size of the team by about 18% to keep the company healthy during this recession. I made a decision. '

According to a document submitted by Coinbase to the US Securities and Exchange Commission , Coinbase will dismiss about 1,100 people, or 18% of its 6,100 employees worldwide, and will continue to hire the remaining 5,000. That. In addition, the total cost required for compensation for employees to be dismissed and subsequent support is expected to be 40 to 45 million dollars (about 5.4 to 6.1 billion yen).

CEO Armstrong explained in discussions with executives and the board over the past month that it became clear that tight cost controls were needed in the face of rapid changes in economic conditions, leading to a decision to restructure employees. ..

Coinbase had 1,250 employees in early 2021, but with the growth of cryptocurrencies, the number of new employees has exploded, and the number of employees has more than quadrupled in the last 18 months. It has become more than 6000 people. 'We've grown too fast,' Armstrong said. 'We did our best, but in this case it became clear that we hired too much.' Claimed to be less efficient. He argued that in order to survive the recession that hit it, it was necessary to restructure employees and reduce employee costs that were too high.

'These results result in my decision to significantly expand the team over the last two years, so this accountability lies entirely with me,' said Armstrong. I would like to thank and apologize for giving everything to the company and hope that as we grow again we will have the opportunity to hire you again. ' ..



In addition, the employee to be dismissed will be immediately blocked from accessing the Coinbase system, and subsequent exchanges will be done by personal e-mail. CEO Armstrong feels uncomfortable with this decision, but given the fact that a large number of employees have access to sensitive personal information, he does this to prevent any employees from taking careless actions. Explains that was the only option.

Employees to be dismissed will be paid at least 14 weeks of salary as a dismissal allowance, American employees will be provided with four months of health insurance, and employees worldwide will be provided with four months of mental health support. Will be provided. Coinbase also said it would help ex-employees change jobs.

On June 13, the day before Coinbase announced the restructuring, the price of Bitcoin fell below $ 23,000 (about 2.9 million yen) for the past 18 months due to the suspension of transactions of the DeFi lending platform 'Celsius'. Recorded the lowest price among them.

What is the cause of the crash of major cryptocurrencies and the one-third of the market capitalization at the peak? --GIGAZINE



Ed Zitron, a British journalist and writer, has published a discussion on his blog on a series of issues such as the collapse of cryptocurrencies, the suspension of withdrawals, and the restructuring of cryptocurrency companies.

The Stock Market At The End Of The World
https://ez.substack.com/p/the-stock-market-at-the-end-of-the?s=r

'What we see is a chain of actions, results, ignorance and arrogance,' said Zitron. 'Like other startups, the crypto industry is trying to keep up with new inflows and excitement. We hired a lot, but didn't reveal a strategy to prepare for the 'crash' that cryptocurrencies are most good at. ' Cryptocurrency companies have hired large numbers of people, invested large amounts of money and announced mass dismissals months after advertising, accusing crypto companies of taking an exploitative and reckless strategy. I am.

Cryptocurrency companies have not only misleaded the general public into risk and return and called for investment in cryptocurrencies, but also tricked talented tech talent into saying that cryptocurrencies are the future of the Internet. Zitron argued that it was also a problem to get involved in a corrupt exploitation system, but easily cut it off in the event of a recession.

in Note, Posted by log1h_ik