Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced on Wednesday that it has made one of its toughest decisions and is reducing its global workforce by about 1,100 people, who make up about 30% of its total workforce, amid the current market conditions.
According to CEO and co-founder Jesse Powell, Kraken had to triple its workforce due to the rapidly growing cryptocurrency ecosystem, and the current downturn is returning the company's team size to what it was 12 months ago.
Powell shared in a tweet, saying: Macro was really tough and we held it but recent industry woes dampened near-term optimism about a cryptocurrency recovery, according to Coin Telegraph.
Decreased trading volumes and lower customer sign-ups amid turbulent market conditions contributed to Kraken's decision to cut costs by slowing recruitment efforts and avoiding large marketing commitments.
According to the Kraken exchange, these changes are necessary to sustain the business for the long term while continuing to build world-class products and services in selective areas that add the most value to our customers.
Kraken said the let go employees received a decent compensation package, which includes severance pay covering 16 weeks of base salary, performance bonuses, and four months of healthcare coverage including counseling, immigration support, job support, and more. Among other advantages.
