Polygon Labs announced on February 1 that the firm is laying off 60 employees, which constitutes 19% of its workforce, to improve the team’s performance.
The current round of layoffs coincides with the same process in February of the previous year when it announced laying off 100 people from its workforce as part of internal restructuring efforts.
Polygon Labs is the company behind the polygon blockchain. Polygon, previously known as Matic Network, operates as a blockchain platform to establish a multi-chain system that interoperates seamlessly with Ethereum.
Like Ethereum, it employs a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism to facilitate on-chain transactions. The native token of the Polygon network is called MATIC, functioning as an ERC-20 token to ensure compatibility with various other cryptocurrencies on the Ethereum network.
CEO of Polygon Labs Marc Boiron announced in a blog post on the firm’s website that the company had executed the step to terminate the employment of 60 staff members to enhance performance.
He also cleared the firm’s stance that the termination was not done just to reduce costs or any other financial reasons and that it was a very difficult but necessary step the company had to take.
He also emphasized that the step would ensure a more seamless work environment with the team performing meticulously with surgical precision and ensuring less bureaucracy that would eliminate any hindrance in the current developments.
Boiron’s official statement read: “This decision is not easy. Right-sizing for enhanced performance, rather than for financial reasons, may seem unconventional.”
Polygon’s co-founder Sandeep Nailwal also made a statement on X (formerly Twitter), where he shared the necessity of eliminating these 60 jobs from the company. He said that the move was made to bring Polygon Labs back to its origins as an underdog, emphasizing the significance of this strategic move.
Returning to the underdog roots means working in an environment where the Polygon team can rekindle a sense of resilience, agility, and innovative spirit often associated with underdogs.
At the time of publication, Boiron did not disclose which staff members would be impacted by the layoffs.
However, he committed to sharing this information as soon as possible, depending on employees’ decisions to opt in. Social media responses to the decision indicated widespread agreement with the perceived necessity of Polygon’s “tough but necessary” approach.
The news of Polygon laying off employees adds to another incident where financial companies in various sectors undergo the same process. Just a few days back, BlackRock announced that it is laying off 600 employees, which constitutes 3% of its workforce.
The move was surprising, given the company’s recent success when the SEC approved its spot Bitcoin ETF listing.
Another major player in the financial world, Block Inc, a Fintech company, also announced on January 30 the termination of employment of 1000 employees.
In a move to streamline operations, the company, led by CEO Jack Dorsey, laid off a substantial number of employees that constituted approximately 10% of its workforce daily. Dorsey justified that the decision aimed to ensure swift action rather than prolonged uncertainty.
The layoffs affected staff in the Cash App, Foundational, and Square arms of Block. What is similar in this case, like in BlackRock’s case, is that the layoffs were made after the company announced a significant development that should have elevated the sentiment of its employees and the market.
Approximately two months ago, Block announced that it was introducing a self-custody Bitcoin wallet. Despite reporting $5.62 billion in revenue for Q3 2023 and securing $44 million in profit from its Bitcoin holdings, the firm still implemented these cuts as part of its operational adjustments.
