Gemini Exchange, one of the first trading platforms that laid off its staff amidst this menacing crypto winter has conducted the second round of layoff without much publicity. According to sources who spoke to TechCrunch on conditions of anonymity, the company has cut as many as 68 jobs or 7% of its workforce in a more aggressive cost-cutting measure.
According to the source, the company did not inform the entire workforce of this move but that the 68 individuals suspected quietly left the company-wide slack group. The source said a company document was shared on a professional network, Blind on July 14 but was taken down swiftly. As TechCrunch gathered, the company detailed in the document that it plans to cut its workforce by 15% from the 950 it was at the time to 800.
The management of Gemini got a hint about the leak and was quite furious about the matter.
“It’s come to my attention that at least one team member thinks it’s a good idea to post a snippet of our technology operating plan on a third party website (Blind),” Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini, wrote in a Slack message at the time. “Wow, super lame … if you are leaking company information, you are exhibiting a low level of consciousness and respect for your fellow team members who greatly benefit from the openness we are trying to create and foster here.”
The Winklevoss brothers said the leak should either leave the firm or risk facing a costly legal battle in the near future.
Workforce Retrenchment: the Way Forward for Trading Platforms
Laying off staff has been considered one of the most effective cost-cutting strategies for some companies in the digital currency ecosystem.
With Coinbase also sending off 18% of its workforce, a handful of other distressed companies including BlockFi, and Celsius Network have also followed a similar path to sending workers away. While severance packages are often paid out to the affected staff, the platforms believe doing so will notably help save more costs in the near future.
