Coinbase un-hires new recruits due to market conditions Zeynep Geylan · 21 hours ago · 2 min read
U.S.âș Coinbase âș Gemini âș Enterprise
Coinbase comes across as ‘unprofessional’ as it withdraws recent job offers and said it freezes hiring indefinitely.
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate
Coinbase announced that it un-hired some of the new recruits and is suspending further job offers for the foreseeable future to navigate the bear market conditions better and emerge stronger.
The company informed the cancellation by sending an e-mail to the new hires, signed by Coinbaseâs Chief People Officer, L.J. Brock. The e-mail stated that the company changed its hiring plans due to rapidly changing market conditions and that the recipient will no longer be starting their new position at Coinbase.
Coinbase offered a severance payment of two monthsâ salary and established a talent hub to help the un-hired look for a new position elsewhere to compensate for the inconvenience.
One recipient published the e-mail and criticized Coinbase for being unprofessional. He told Insider:
âThey told me theyâre going offer me training to help me find new jobs. I donât need that [âŠ] Iâm very bitter with how there were no details and lack of documentation over how they came to this decision,â
It is unknown how many recruits received the rescinding e-mail.
The un-hiring spree attracted attention on Twitter as well. Angel investor Jason Choi stepped up to help out the affected ones. He tweeted:
If you were recently rugged by Coinbase, DM me with your qualifications + ideal role and Iâll do my best to help https://t.co/T4WQg9stXl
â Jason Choi (@mrjasonchoi) June 3, 2022
Is Coinbase doing okay?
In May 2022, Coinbaseâs first quarter of 2022 earnings report was released, which included bankruptcy wording that triggered the community.
Specifically, the document said that usersâ funds could be considered the property of a bankrupt estate. If Coinbase goes bankrupt, these funds would be subject to bankruptcy proceedings.
In addition, a 40% drop was recorded in Coinbaseâs trading volume for the first quarter of 2022. The dropping volume and bankruptcy wording raised the question if Coinbase was going bankrupt or not.
Coinbaseâs CEO Brian Armstrong spoke a few days later and addressed those concerns. He dismissed the concerns about bankruptcy and said:
âIâve never been more bullish on where we are as a company. And I think itâs really important to separate our performance, how are we executing towards our goals versus how is the broader market doing.â
He ended his words by saying that Coinbase will keep building regardless of the market direction.
However, other signs might show Coinbase is having problems. A few days after Armstrongâs speech, Coinbaseâs Chief Product Officer Surojit Chatterjee said the company is increasing its focus on critical revenue-generating products.
Moreover, Coinbaseâs recent announcement says that headcount is one of the ways for the company to manage its costs. Therefore the un-hiring decision was a prudent one given current market conditions.
Should we expect a firing spree?
Coinbase announced its decision to un-hire and suspend further hiring after another cryptocurrency exchange platform, Gemini.
On June 2, Geminiâs founders sent a company memo to employees to notify them that 10% of its staff will be dismissed to survive the crypto winter.
Giving the same reasons as Coinbase, Gemini said that the falling prices, geopolitical turmoil, and stagnating development affected everyone in the industry, including Gemini.