Dapper Labs, the company behind the NFT CryptoKitties collection and the Flow blockchain, is being forced to lay off 22% of its staff, or at least over 130 people. According to its founder Roham Gharegozlou, the decision is attributable to the latent macroeconomic instability.
Dapper Labs makes massive layoffs
Dappers Labs, the company behind non-fungible token (NFT) collection CryptoKitties and blockchain Flow, is being forced to lay off 22% of its staff due to the current macroeconomic fog.
The statement, written by Roham Gharegozlou, CEO and founder of Dapper Labs, says that those affected by the wave of layoffs have already been notified. In deciding which of its members would be affected, the company chose to focus on what made it strong and what “served the overall priority of widespread Web3 adoption”.
In this regard, Roham Gharegozlou’s letter reads:
We then translated the product strategy and cost structure to individual teams and team members, making tough decisions based on the skills and capabilities we will need for our future business. […] At Dapper Labs, we’re focused on what will move the cursor and take the entire industry to its next inflection point – and we’re getting out of anything that doesn’t fit that direction. “
Moreover, according to the founder of Dapper Labs, the company has overestimated its growth from 100 to over 600 employees in 2 years. For this, he assures “assume responsibility” for the consequences.
A macro economy that includes NFT
Dapper Labs, which operates in the NFT sector, notably with its flagship collection CryptoKitties, the NFT NBA Top Shot or UFC Strike, is thus suffering an additional difficulty since the NFT sector is at its lowest. Indeed, the company has significant financial stakes in the business.
Weekly volume of NFTs traded by category
His NBA Top Shot collection, for example, which saw a notable gain in popularity at the start of 2021, has seen its popularity gradually decline, reaching its lowest sales volume last month. This volume is now around a few thousand dollars a day, where the collection may have peaked at over $45 million in sales in February 2021.
Although the employees affected by these layoffs will be forced to find employment elsewhere, Dapper Labs assures that they will be supported until they do. This will include three months’ compensation, job search support, and a website to connect the affected employees with professionals.
However, Dapper Labs did not disclose the exact number of employees affected by the dismissal.
