Today we’re announcing one of the hardest decisions at Kraken to date. We’re reducing our global workforce by approximately 1,100 people, or 30 percent, in order to adapt to current market conditions.
We are extremely grateful for the contributions of those impacted by today’s announcement and we’ll do our best to help them transition to their next opportunity. All impacted Krakenites have been notified as of this morning.
Why is this happening?
Over the past few years, hundreds of millions of new users entered the crypto space and millions of new clients put their trust in Kraken during that time. We had to grow fast, more than tripling our workforce in order to provide those clients with the quality and service they expect of us. This reduction takes our team size back to where it was only 12 months ago.
Since the start of this year, macroeconomic and geopolitical factors have weighed on financial markets. This resulted in significantly lower trading volumes and fewer client sign-ups. We responded by slowing hiring efforts and avoiding large marketing commitments. Unfortunately, negative influences on the financial markets have continued and we have exhausted preferable options for bringing costs in line with demand.
As one of the longest running global crypto exchanges, founded in 2011, we have successfully navigated many market cycles and our strategy has always included thoughtful cost management and spending. These changes will allow us to sustain the business for the long-term while continuing to build world-class products and services in selective areas that add the most value for our clients.
How we are handling departures
Our priority is to ensure all departing Krakenites receive comprehensive support as they transition from the company. We will offer:
- Separation pay: We will pay 16 weeks of base pay for all departing Krakenites inclusive of the paid leave period.
- Performance bonus: For those eligible, we will pay each departing Krakenite their bonus as determined by their manager.
- Benefits: We will offer eligible Krakenites 4 months of healthcare continuation coverage inclusive of the paid leave period. All Krakenites will continue to have access to counseling services during this period.
- Extension of exercise window: We will extend departing Krakenites’ window to exercise their vested stock options.
- Immigration support: Kraken will provide dedicated visa and immigration support for those currently on company-sponsored visas.
- Outplacement support: We will provide career support for departing Krakenites, including networking opportunities, job search best practices, interview guidance, and more.
Looking ahead
Our mission to empower people with new ways to connect and transact is most important to us – it’s what keeps me going every day and it’s why we’re all here. I’m confident the steps we are taking today will ensure we can continue to deliver on our mission which the world needs now more than ever before. I remain extremely bullish on crypto and Kraken.
Jesse Powell, Co-Founder and CEO
