In July this year, Binance, the cryptocurrency firm had reduced headcount by 1,000 and also reduced employee benefits amidst dipping profits. Now, the company is gearing to lay off more than a 100 staff members. Brian Shroder, CEO, Binance, is set to leave too for unknown reasons.
Shroder is only the most recent senior leader to quit. Earlier, Mayur Kamat, global head of product, had also quit, close on the heels of Patrick Hillman, chief strategy officer, who quit in July.
Normal Reed, general counsel, will take over Shroder’s duties for the time being. Reed has been with Binance since 2021.
This round of job cuts is expected to help Binance continue operations without too much financial stress for over seven years. During this period, the firm will reportedly function as a crypto-only exchange.
In June, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil complaint against the crypto exchange. Changpeng Zhao, founder, Binance, was accused of making Binance.US a part of plan to escape securities laws that protect US investors. Meanwhile, Binance and Binance.US have been claiming to be operating as separate entites all along.
Amidst falling profits Binance had adopted various cost-cutting measures in June. Mobile-phone reimbursement and fitness reimbursement were discontinued along with work-from-home expenses.At the time, Zhao had defended the cost-cutting measures as part of a strategy to increase the company’s talent density, though he refuted specific numbers reported in the media without providing an alternative figure. He emphasised that Binance was still actively hiring despite the layoffs at the time.
