It seems to be the season of mass layoffs and red alarms sounding for many industries, especially in the world of crypto.
Popular crypto exchange platform Coinbase has not been immune to this, announcing two weeks ago that the company would begin slowing down its hiring process due to volatile conditions in the market.
As of a new memo penned on Friday, it was announced that the company would be continuing this hiring freeze for an indeterminate amount of time while also beginning to rescind certain employment offers that have already been made.
“As we manage through this downturn, we want to be transparent about the decisions we have to make in order to meaningfully manage expenses,” Coinbase Chief People Officer, L.J. Brook, wrote to employees. “While we did not make this decision lightly, it is the prudent one given market conditions. We will continue to evaluate all of our options to responsibly navigate Coinbase through the current cycle. We always knew crypto would be volatile, but that volatility alongside larger economic factors may test the company, and us personally, in new ways”
The company maintained that the hiring freeze would include backfill roles with certain exceptions for roles that are “necessary.”
Individuals who will have their offers rescinded will be entitled to severance from the company as well as given access to a talent hub to help them with the job search process.
However, per a leaked email shared with Entrepreneur, hired employees were prior told that there would be no such offers rescinded.
“First and foremost, I wanted to communicate that we are still extremely excited about having you join Coinbase and we will not be rescinding the offers of any employees who have already signed or have received an offer from us,” the email read, underlined for emphasis. “We remain bullish on the long-term future of crypto and Coinbase’s position in the ecosystem.”
That email was reportedly sent the week of May 16.
Coinbase is not alone when it comes to crypto exchange platforms initiating major changes and layoffs.
Just Thursday, Gemini announced that it would be slashing 10% of its workforce citing what they called the “crypto winter.”
“As painful as this moment is, we ultimately see it as an opportunity to double-down on our strongest ideas and customer-centric products so that we may be the catalyst of innovation coming out of these leaner times that will help fuel the next cycle of crypto growth and adoption,” the company told employees.
Coinbase was down nearly 10% at market close on Friday upon the news.
