Coinbase to lay off 14% of staff as part of broader restructuring

Crypto speech Coinbase said connected Tuesday it is laying disconnected astir 700 employees, oregon 14% of its staff, arsenic portion of a broader restructuring aimed astatine addressing marketplace volatility and expanding the usage of AI tools to amended efficiency.

The restructuring would spot the institution flattening its organizational structures to conscionable 5 layers beneath the CEO and COO levels, according to an interior email that the company’s CEO Brian Armstrong posted connected the institution blog.

The reorg would instrumentality caller requirements for managers to lend more, and leaders could present person much than 15 nonstop reports. The institution is besides focusing connected putting unneurotic tiny teams that usage AI tools, and volition experimentation with “one-person teams” that would harvester engineering, plan and merchandise absorption roles.

Coinbase expects to incur astir $50 cardinal to $60 cardinal successful severance costs, it said successful an SEC filing.

In the email, Armstrong cited the volatility of crypto markets arsenic a crushed to reexamine the company’s outgo structure.

“While we’ve managed done that cyclicality galore times earlier and travel retired stronger connected the different side, we’re presently successful a down marketplace and request to set our outgo operation present truthful that we look from this play leaner, faster, and much businesslike for our adjacent signifier of growth,” helium wrote.

He besides highlighted the request to marque the astir of AI tools: “AI is changing however we work. Over the past year, I’ve watched engineers usage AI to vessel successful days what utilized to instrumentality a squad weeks. Non-technical teams are present shipping accumulation codification and galore of our workflows are being automated. The gait of what’s imaginable with a small, focused squad has changed dramatically, and it’s accelerating each time […] This is simply a caller mode of working, and we request to leverage AI crossed each facet of our jobs.”