Yuga Labs Cuts Workforce: Details

Yuga Labs CEO Daniel Alegre revealed company restructuring and workforce cutbacks in a Friday X post. 

Yuga Labs Fires Employees

Alegre wrote: “After a recent period of thoughtful consideration, I have decided that we need to restructure the Yuga Labs teams,” he added:

“The implication of these changes is that a number of roles have been eliminated across the company, impacting some of your colleagues.”

As per the report by The block, the company is anticipated to shift its focus towards community and brand engagement, doubling down on its metaverse extension, Otherside, and strengthening internal development efforts.

Focus on Other Priorities

The CEO noted: “When I joined Yuga six months ago, my first priority was to lay out a clear vision that focused our team on the creative storytelling and community building that is at the core of Yuga,” Alegre added.

“I realized very quickly that there were a number of projects that, while well-intentioned, either spread the team too thin or required execution expertise beyond our core competencies.”

Slow Revenue of Yuga Labs

According to The Block’s Data Dashboard, the platform generated a mere $356,000 in sales during the initial week of October. Although Otherside experienced substantial weekly sales earlier this year, its sales volume has plateaued since April. 

Yuga Labs appointed Daniel Alegre to the position of CEO back in December last year after it was discovered that the regulatory agency was looking into whether the cryptocurrency business violated federal law by issuing NFTs that function like stocks. 

Withdrawal of Support for OpenSea’s Seaport

In a statement made back in August, Alegre declared its intention to withdraw full support for Opensea’s Seaport by February 2024. This move was framed as a protest and direct response to Opensea’s proposed discontinuation of the Operator Filter, a critical tool that ensures the enforcement of creator royalties. This withdrawal followed an earlier decision by the company to prohibit entities such as Blur, SudoSwap, LooksRare, and NFTX from participating in the minting of its Sewer Pass at the beginning of the year.