Coinbase is dealing with the market turmoil. The company’s chief workforce officer, L.J. Brock, announced that the company will freeze hiring and cancel some job offers that have been filled recently.
Coinbase stops hiring and cancels job offers
The cryptocurrency market’s decline is sparing no one, not even its major players. The well-known US platform Coinbase announced today that it will continue to halt hiring due to the pessimistic outlook for the crypto markets and tech stocks.
But that’s not all, the company also announced that it would be cancelling some job offers for employees who had accepted positions, but had not yet started working. Proof that the situation is still quite serious for employment in Tech.
Coinbase first announced plans to slow down hiring in early May. But now the company is taking a harder line, as evidenced by Coinbase’s chief of staff L.J. Brock’s post on the company’s blog:
“It’s become clear that we need to take tougher measures to slow down the growth of our workforce. Adapting quickly and acting now will help us successfully navigate this macro environment and emerge even stronger, enabling healthy growth and further innovation. “
He said the hiring freeze will include not only new unfilled positions, but also existing minor positions in the company. The chief of staff says there will be an exception for “roles that are necessary to meet the high standards we have set for safety and compliance, or to support other mission-critical work.”
So Coinbase will cancel some accepted job offers for employees who have not yet started work. A false hope for them.
But by way of compensation, L.J. Brock says the company will offer severance packages to those whose job offers have been rescinded, and would make every effort to help them find jobs elsewhere in the industry. A gesture of contrition from the US crypto giant
Coinbase and Tech face many challenges
This isn’t the first time these types of stories have made the news in recent weeks. Tech giants like Meta or Google have also announced hiring restrictions. It is the entire tech stock sector that is affected.
But Tech stocks that are positioned in the crypto sector are suffering a double whammy: the decline of the crypto market and of Tech. In fact, they have performed very poorly on the stock market since the beginning of the year.
Coinbase believes that this decision is necessary to focus on the highest priority areas. After astronomical advertising spending in 2021, it’s time for budget cuts, and staffing controls are part of that.
What is surprising is that this announcement comes less than a month after L.J. Brock announced that Coinbase was hiring:
Comp differentiation is about proving it on the field at Coinbase- adding value for our customers and our company in role — not about negotiation skills at time of hire. If this speaks to you, we are hiring! https://t.co/OfBAGh5WDv
– L.J. Brock (@LJBrock) May 10, 2021
However, this tweet came before the company’s financial results were announced. In May, Coinbase posted a $430 million loss for the first quarter of 2022 after missing analysts’ profit and revenue forecasts for the quarter. Coinbase’s share price has fallen more than 40% in the last month alone to a current price of less than $74 per share.
L.J. Brock says:
“We always knew crypto would be volatile, but this volatility alongside broader economic factors could test the company, and us personally, in new ways. If we are flexible and resilient, and stay focused on the long term, Coinbase will come out stronger on the other side. “
This radical decision could allow Coinbase to emerge stronger from this bear market when the markets recover.
