Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase will lay off another 18% of staff (950 employees) to weather the crypto market downturn, which was worsened by the collapse of FTX.
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In an interview with CNBC, Coinbase's boss, Brian Armstrong, said that the company hopes to reduce operating expenses down by 25% in Q1. However, the US-based crypto exchange projects that the layoffs will cost it between $149 million and $163 million.
"With perfect hindsight, looking back, we should have done more. The best you can do is react quickly once information becomes available, and that’s what we’re doing in this case," said Armstrong.
The decision to reduce workforce was also based on the results of various stress tests for the exchange's annual revenue, the Coinbase CEO added. He said that it "became clear that we would need to reduce expenses to increase our chances of doing well in every scenario."
For Coinbase, this is the third round of layoffs as the exchange is trying to optimize its business structure amid cascades of bankruptcies on the market. The exchange first cut 18% of staff in June last year, claiming its rapid growth had created problems in coordinating and integrating new team members.
In November, Coinbase laid off another 60 employees, citing the need to "operate as efficiently as possible."
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