Binance Says 'Reevaluating' Roles After Report of Layoffs
A report by independent journalist Colin Wu suggested sizable layoffs at the crypto exchange have already begun.
May 31, 2023 at 2:19 p.m. UTC:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/LZXM6D7UOVF6RBLCV4V35NALMM.jpg)
Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange by trading volume, said it needs to "focus on talent density across its organization," as it responded Wednesday morning to a report of job cuts.
"This is not a case of rightsizing, but rather, reevaluating whether we have the right talent and expertise in critical roles, and therefore we will still be seeking to fill hundreds of open roles," a spokesperson told CoinDesk on Wednesday.
A report earlier Wednesday by independent journalist Colin Wu claimed that Binance may have laid off as much as 20% of its staff. The firm currently has 8,000 employees, the Binance spokesperson said.
Binance Chief Communications Officer Patrick Hillman later confirmed via tweet the "need to streamline," though he denied the company is cutting 20% of staff.
"We have regularly gone through a talent density audit and resource allocation exercise every six months or so," said Hillman. "There is no specific number, just direction on where we need to streamline."
UPDATE (May 31, 2023, 15:26 UTC): Adds statement from Chief Communications Officer Patrick Hillman
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Eliza Gkritsi is a CoinDesk contributor focused on the intersection of crypto and AI.