A number of crypto companies have made job cuts this week amid the ongoing crypto season, laying off “influential” employees while preparing for a “longer decline.”
At least 216 jobs were cut among three crypto companies – open-source software laboratory Protocol Labs, blockchain data company Chainalysis and US digital currency exchange Bittrex, with cuts of 89, 83 and 44 employees, respectively.
Juan Benet, CEO of Protocol Labs, the parent company of Filecoin (FIL), announced the job cuts in a blog post on February 3 stating that the company needs to focus headcount “against the most important and business critical efforts.”
He said the company’s decision to cut “89 roles,” about 21% of its workforce, was to ensure a good position for “this winter weather.”
Benet suggested that companies should “prepare for a longer downturn,” as it has been a “very challenging” time for the crypto industry.
Meanwhile Bittrex employees were informed by CEO Richie Lai via email on February 1 that the company has reduced its workforce to “ensure the long-term viability” of the company.
That email leak via Twitter on February 2, where Lai stated that although the leadership team “worked aggressively” to reduce costs and increase efficiency over the past few months, these efforts did not yield the “necessary results.”
Lai added that market conditions have forced companies to reset their strategies and balance “investment with the new economic environment.”
According to Washington State employment data on February 2 revealed that Bittrex cut 83 jobs.
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Maddie Kennedy, director of communications at Chainalysis, told Forbes on February 1 that “mainly in sales” in the company they let go, as 44 of its 900 employees, approximately 4.8% of the workforce, were slashed.
The layoffs come after news that at least 2,900 staff were cut across 14 crypto companies in January.
Coinbase had the largest layoff among the companies, cutting 950 employees on January 10.
Meanwhile, rival exchanges Crypto.com, Luno and Huobi cut approximately 500, 330 and 320 staff respectively.
Cointelegraph reached out for comment from Protocol Labs, Chainalysis and Bittrex but did not receive a response at the time of publication.