• Binance is reportedly laying off over 1,000 employees as part of a restructuring effort.
• The company is facing regulatory hurdles, including lawsuits from the Securities and Exchange Commission and being ordered to cease operations in Belgium.
• Other companies such as Microsoft are also making job cuts this month.
Binance Layoffs
Binance is reportedly laying off over 1,000 employees as part of a restructuring effort that could result in a reduction of more than a third. Wall Street Journal shared an insight on June 14. According to an unnamed Binance spokesperson, 1,000 people have already been laid off and up to 3,500 people will lose their positions in Binance by the end of 2023. A week earlier, several senior executives also shared their departure from the company. In March 2023, rumors had emerged of 20% layoffs which were not officially confirmed by then.
CEO Reaction
Binance’s CEO Changpeng Zhao quickly reacted to the layoffs on Twitter accusing the media of spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD). However CZ still confirmed that some job cuts eventually took place while adding that they were continuously striving to increase talent density and that they were still hiring despite the job losses.
Regulatory Hurdles
The downsizing of staff at Binance occurs amidst uncertainty for the crypto industry in the United States with regulatory bodies cracking down on activities they perceive as unlawful. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Binance and its CEO accusing them of operating a “web of deception” while later ordering them to cease operations in Belgium, denying them a crypto custody license in Germany and losing their euro banking partner all within 30 days with scrutiny coming from France too and Brazil subpoenaing them regarding Ponzi scheme investigation .
Market-wide Job Losses
The crypto industry isn’t the only one making cuts this month with Forbes 2023 layoff tracker reporting Microsoft having laid off 276 employees in Seattle area too .
Conclusion
Binance has faced significant regulatory challenges recently which has forced it into restructuring resulting in thousands of job losses yet it continues to hire despite these difficulties . The crypto industry isn’t alone either as other major corporations like Microsoft are also seeing significant reductions in personnel this month .