New Delhi, May 5 (IANS). Crypto exchange Coinbase said on Tuesday it is laying off 14 percent of its workforce, as artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing the way people work and the company looks to make itself leaner, faster and AI-based.
The company said that detailed information will be sent to the affected employees on their personal emails, in which they will be invited for talks with HRBP and senior leaders of the organization.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said in a post on social media platform
He said that the company has immediately removed the system access of the employees due to security reasons.
He said, “I know this decision may seem sudden and drastic, but it is a necessary step to protect customer information.
The CEO said that the first reason is the market situation. He noted that Coinbase is well capitalized, has diverse income sources and is capable of weathering any economic challenges.
However, he acknowledged that the company’s business fluctuates from quarter to quarter. “We have come out of this cyclical situation stronger before, but right now the market is weak and we need to change our cost structure to position ourselves more strongly for the next phase of growth,” Armstrong said.
He cited AI as the second major reason. He said, “In the last one year, I have seen that with the help of AI, engineers are doing work in a few days, which earlier took weeks. Even non-technical teams are now creating production code and many processes are being automated.”
He further said that the ability to work with small and focused teams has increased rapidly and this change is continuously accelerating.
Armstrong said the company is making the changes deliberately and in a timely manner to remodel Coinbase as a lean, agile and AI-based company. “We need to return to our startup pace and focus, with AI at the center,” he said.
US employees will receive at least 16 weeks of base pay (plus an additional 2 weeks annually), future equity vesting and up to 6 months of COBRA benefits.
Additional assistance will be given to employees working on work visas. At the same time, employees outside the US will also get similar support as per local rules.
–IANS
DBP
