- Crypto companies have been accused of not being open with regard to their staff redundancies
- Gemini has been accused of quietly carrying out a second round of redundancies
- Kraken is thought to have reduced staff levels by getting people to quit through its new ‘cultural philosophy’
While some exchanges are being up front about staff cutbacks as the crypto winter hits home, others are being less so. Gemini and Kraken have been recently seen as examples of crypto companies reducing staff numbers either without giving their staff full details or enforcing a culture change that forces many out instead of having to sack them. With the crypto winter setting in, things could get worse for employees before they get better.
Gemini Quietly Sacks More Staff
Gemini announced seven weeks ago that it had become the latest of the top crypto exchanges to cut back on staff numbers, making 10% of the workforce redundant, but it is a recent second round of cuts that has left a bad taste.
Techcrunch reported yesterday that the company had made further redundancies, with one source saying the number could be as high as 8%, but that the company had not revealed details to staff, leaving many to speculate as to who had lost their positions.
The news of the quiet job cut follows revelations that an employee leaked a snippet of an internal document on the exchange’s internal communications platform which showed a plan to reduce the workforce from 950 to 800, an act that Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini, called “super lame”.
Kraken ‘Culture’ Reinforcement Sees Staff Leave
While Gemini may not be revealing all about its job cuts, Kraken seems to be doing things in a much more devious manner. As the New York Times reported last month, Kraken sent a “31-page culture document” to staff, outlining some strong views that emanate from founder Jesse Powell and reflected the culture he wanted to instil at Kraken.
Staff were told that if they didn’t fit the bill they could quit, with a four-month severance pack being offered to those that chose to leave. FullyCrypto has been informed that the female population within the company was particularly perturbed by Powell’s recent comments and the culture document, with around 20 handing their notices in. These roles are not expected to be filled, imbuing the entire exercise with a sense that this was downsizing without publicly acknowledging it.
As the crypto winter deepens there will likely be many more redundancies made in the crypto sector, but it is hoped for the sake of the remaining employees that less of this kind of skullduggery takes place and companies are being open and honest with their staff.
