How Scared Should We Be About Crypto Layoffs? An Expert’s Take
It’s been a rough start of 2023 for crypto companies and their employees. In the first two weeks, there were over 1,600 job cuts in the space due to uncertainty and market volatility. Against the backdrop of the prolonged crypto winter, digital asset exchange Crypto.com laid off 20% of its global workforce. Coinbase laid off 25% of its staff, and Kraken is to do the same.
Part of a broader trend
Large US technology firms are also expected to reduce their bloated workforce, reversing Covid-era surpluses. Amazon decided to do away with 18,000 jobs and started communicating to employees on Wednesday whether they would be laid off.
This comes after the e-commerce giant made too many hires based on pandemic-era demand, reflecting Meta’s aggressive hiring policy to meet social media usage growth as people were stuck at home. Analogically, Meta decided to cut 11,000 jobs in November. On Wednesday, Microsoft announced it would eliminate 10,000 jobs.
Things will get back to normal
There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Here’s what Chief Strategy Officer of Bitrue Robert Quartly-Janeiro had to say about crypto layoffs and layoffs in general:
The bull market of 2020-21 and the lack of workers globally caused the industry to expand at a pace, like many industries at that time, to cope with demand and developments, which has been adjusted. Exchanges weren’t overstaffed; they were set up for what they were working on at the time, which will continue to morph and change. Around the world, tech, medical, professional, and financial services professionals are being “let go” or simply fired for broader macroeconomic reasons. Crypto was arguably, and sadly, ahead of that curve, losing lots of talent to the benefit of other industries. Yet, as things will return to normal, we hope the worst is behind us for the benefit of all concerned.
