Polygon Labs, the team focused on building the layer-2 blockchain Polygon, has laid off 60 employees, representing about 19% of its staff, according to a post published Thursday by CEO Marc Boisron. That's what it means.
Polygon Chain is one of the largest layer 2 blockchains focused on scaling Ethereum. According to the company's website, it has facilitated more than 2.44 billion transactions, deployed more than 1.17 million smart contracts, and generated $12.8 billion in revenue. Polygon Labs is an organization that helps build blockchain ecosystems.
Boisron said the team's growth during the last crypto bull market has “diminished” the qualities he looks for in employees.
“To be as ambitious and agile as possible, to hold everyone accountable for what they're doing, we need to significantly reduce bureaucracy and build efficient surgical teams,” he said. added. “As a smaller team, we are able to collaborate more, accelerate demanding projects, and execute to their fullest potential.”
As a result of the layoffs, Polygon Labs plans to increase total compensation for existing employees by 15% and “retire the traditional GeoPay model.” As for the dismissed person, he will be provided with two months' severance pay and health benefits, if applicable, until the end of the month.
According to data from CoinMarketCap, Polygon's token MATIC fell on the news, but has since rebounded around the same level as on the day.
Earlier this week, Jack Dorsey's fintech company Block, whose subsidiaries include Square, Cash App and Afterpay, also laid off staff, reportedly laying off about 1000 people, or 10% of its team.
According to the data, crypto companies that cut jobs in the fourth quarter last year included Ava Labs, OpenSea, Yuga Labs, and Chainaracy. The largest company, OpenSea, cut 50% of its workforce in early November.
Across the technology industry, large-scale layoffs are occurring at both large and small companies. According to data from Layoffs.fyi, around 107 tech companies laid off workers in 2024, affecting around 30,000 people.
We've already cut more tech employees this quarter than in the previous two quarters, and we're only one month into a four-month period.