Coinbase to lay off 14% of employees as part of major restructuring

Crypto exchange Coinbase said on Tuesday it is laying off about 700 employees, or 14% of its workforce, as part of a major overhaul aimed at combating market volatility and increasing the use of AI tools to improve efficiency.

The restructuring will see the company streamline its operations into just five divisions under the CEO and COO, according to an internal email from company CEO Brian Armstrong. posted on the company’s blog.

Reorg will meet new requirements for managers to provide information, and leaders can have more than 15 direct reports. The company is also looking to deploy small teams that use AI tools, and will test “one-person teams” that will include engineering, design and product management.

Coinbase expects to spend about $50 million to $60 million in liquidation costs, it said in an SEC filing. reservation.

In the email, Armstrong cited the volatility of the crypto markets as a reason to review the company’s valuation.

“While we’ve dealt with cyclicality many times in the past and come out strong on the other side, we’re in a bearish market and need to change our pricing structure now to get out of this period leaner, faster, and more efficiently into our next phase of growth,” he wrote.

He also highlighted the need to make better use of AI tools: “AI is changing the way we work. Last year, I saw engineers using AI to deliver in days that used to take a team weeks. Non-technical teams are now delivering production code and most of our operations are automated. The speed of what can be done with a small, focused, stable team and it is changing more every day… in work, and we need to improve AI in every aspect of our work.”