Ava Labs, the team behind the Avalanche blockchain, confirmed that it laid off 12% of its employees in a recent wave of layoffs, citing the need to reallocate resources.
Founder and CEO Emin Gün Sirer comfirmed The news comes after several former Ava Labs employees announced their firings on November 7 on X (formerly Twitter).
Gün Sirer said: “This headcount reduction affects 12% of Ava Labs’ personnel and allows us to reallocate resources to double the growth of our company and the Avalanche ecosystem.”
Gün Sirer acknowledged that a bear market can be difficult to navigate, but that iterated Ava Labs is well-positioned, with significant runway and resources at its disposal.
Today, we are parting ways with some of the Ava Labs team members. We are no longer a 12-person startup, but we strive to capture the speed and energy of a small, nimble team.
This force reduction affects 12% of Ava Labs and allows us to reallocate resources to redouble our efforts…
— Emin Gün Sirer (@el33th4xor) November 7, 2023
Ava Labs has 335 employees, according to LinkedIn said about 40 people were affected.
Garrison Yang, Vice President of Growth and Strategy, Ava Labs hint Many of the layoffs came from the company’s marketing team.
Zach Manafort, a former member of the Game Growth Marketing team, posted on X on October 6, revealing that he had been fired. Although he had been active in the Avalanche community since 2020, he left.
It looks like my time is @AvaLabs It has ended. Despite recent layoffs, my time here has been filled with valuable experiences and growth.
As I transition, I would like to explore opportunities in marketing or operations.
My passion for these fields combined…
— Trading Aloha (@TradingAloha) November 6, 2023
The layoffs are as a result of surprise Manafort believes that “things have just begun.”
Brandon Suzuki, who previously worked in Ava Labs’ marketing department, also confirmed that he was fired on October 6.
Unfortunately I was fired @AvaLabs this morning. If anyone has resources for web3 marketers, please let me know!
— Brandon Suzuki (@BrandonSuzuki_) November 6, 2023
The latest round of layoffs comes just days after non-fungible token marketplace OpenSea laid off 50% of its staff on November 3.
CryptoRecruit founder Neil Dundon told Cointelegraph that despite the recent increase in cryptocurrency market capitalization, job openings in the cryptocurrency industry are still difficult to find.
“Unfortunately, the cryptocurrency market is still very difficult right now. Money is tight. Venture capital has dried up.”
Dundon said there needs to be more signs that a bull market is coming before recruiting numbers can see meaningful growth again.
“That’s how it’s always been and this time it’s no different.”
On the other hand, Proof of Search and Cryptocurrency Jobs founders Kevin Gibson and Daniel Adler both told Cointelegraph that they have experienced a slight increase in recruitment over the past few weeks.
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Gibson attributes this to the behavior of cryptocurrency companies, who believe they may lose their talent pool when market conditions improve in 2024. He added:
“This is still an employer’s market so we encourage businesses to take advantage of that and continue to grow because things are going to be very different in 2024.”
Gibson noted that some of these positions are only available 2-3 days a week and are not full-time positions.
Adler had a similar view:
“As we approach the end of the year, the team is making final hires and putting their recruiting plans and roadmap in place.”
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