Ava Labs is cutting 12% of its workforce to ‘reallocate resources’ to expansion
Ava Labs, the team behind the Avalanche blockchain, has confirmed that it has laid off 12% of its workforce in recent staff cuts, citing the need to reallocate resources.
The company's founder and CEO Emin Gun Sr. confirmed the news on Nov. 7 after announcing that several former Ava Labs employees had been laid off at X (formerly Twitter).
“This power reduction has impacted Ava Labs by 12%, and will allow us to reallocate resources to double down on the growth of our company and the Avalanche ecosystem,” said Gunn Sirer.
Gün Sirer admits that bear markets can be difficult to navigate, but frequent Ava Labs is well-positioned with significant runway and leveraged resources.
Today we parted ways with some of the Ava Labs team. We're no longer a 12-man startup, but a small, lightweight team that strives to keep pace and energy.
This reduction in power has impacted 12 percent of Ava Labs, and will allow us to redeploy resources to double down on…
— Emin Gün Sirer (@el33th4xor) November 7, 2023
Ava Labs has 335 employees, according to LinkedIn, which says about 40 people were affected.
Garrison Young, Ava Labs vice president of growth and strategy, said many of the layoffs came from the company's marketing team.
In X's Oct. 6 post, former Game Development marketing team member Zach Manafort was among those announcing the firing. His departure comes despite being active in the Avalanche community since 2020.
Looks like my time at @AvaLabs is coming to an end. Despite the recent layoffs, my time here has been filled with invaluable experience and growth.
Moving forward, I am open to exploring opportunities in marketing or operations.
My passion for these fields combined…
— Trading Aloha (@TradingAloha) November 6, 2023
The firing came as a surprise to Manafort, who thought “things are just getting started.”
Brandon Suzuki, who previously worked in Ava Labs' marketing department, also confirmed his layoff on October 6.
Fortunately, I was released from @AvaLabs this morning. If anyone has resources for web 3 marketers, please let me know!
— Brandon Suzuki (@BrandonSuzuki_) November 6, 2023
The most recent round of layoffs comes days after 50% of staff were cut on November 3 at unbeatable marketplace OpenSea.
CryptoRecruit founder Neil Dundon told Cointelegraph that job openings in the crypto industry are still difficult despite the recent surge.
“Currently, unfortunately, the Crypto market is still very difficult. Funds are tight. VC has dried up.
Dundon said there will need to be more signs pointing to a bull market before any meaningful changes in hiring again.
“It's always been like this and this time is no different.”
On the other hand, Kevin Gibson and Daniel Adler, founders of Search Verification and Cryptocurrency Operations, both told Cointelegraph that they have seen a slight increase in hiring in the past few weeks.
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Gibson attributed this to kriptovalyutnyh companies operating under the assumption that they may lose out on the talent pool when market conditions improve in 2024.
“It's still an employer's market so we encourage companies to take advantage of this as it will be very different in 2024.”
Gibson said some of these positions were only 2-3 day per week roles as opposed to full time positions.
Adler shared a similar sentiment:
“As we approach the end of the year, teams are making the final recruiting push and following through on their recruiting plans and roadmaps.”
Magazine: How to protect your crypto in a volatile market — Bitcoin OGs and experts weigh in.
