Update on Hiring Plans

By L.J Brock, Chief People Officer

I shared an update with our employees today that I want to also share publicly here.

TL;DR: In response to the current market conditions and ongoing business prioritization efforts, we will extend our hiring pause for both new and backfill roles for the foreseeable future and rescind a number of accepted offers.

Two weeks ago, we paused hiring while we took time to reprioritize our hiring needs against our highest-priority business goals. As these discussions have evolved, it’s become evident that we need to take more stringent measures to slow our headcount growth. Adapting quickly and acting now will help us to successfully navigate this macro environment and emerge even stronger, enabling further healthy growth and innovation.

How we’ll navigate this moment:

1. We will extend our hiring pause for the foreseeable future.

• After assessing our business priorities, current headcount, and open roles, we have decided to pause hiring for as long as this macro environment requires.
• The extended hiring pause will include backfills, except for roles that are necessary to meet the high standards we set for security and compliance, or to support other mission-critical work. We will always prioritize the safety and security of our customers’ funds.

2. We will rescind a number of accepted offers.

• We will also rescind a number of outstanding offers for people who have not started yet. This is not a decision we make lightly, but is necessary to ensure we are only growing in the highest-priority areas.
• Limited exceptions apply and will be managed by the same criteria as backfills.
• All incoming hires will be advised of their updated offer status today by email.

3. We acknowledge and take responsibility for the experience of those impacted.

• This decision is not a reflection on the highly talented people we had extended job offers to.
• We will apply our generous severance philosophy to offset the financial impact of this decision.
• To further support impacted individuals, we are establishing a talent hub to allow them to opt-in to receive additional support services including job placement support, resume review, interview coaching and access to our strong industry connections.

We have prepared an FAQ — targeted to hiring managers and our talent teams — that contains additional information on how we’re managing this process.

As we manage through this downturn, we want to be transparent about the decisions we have to make in order to meaningfully manage expenses. For example, on our Q1 earnings call, we discussed that headcount and a variety of other expenses are the key ways for us to manage our costs. While we did not make this decision lightly, it is the prudent one given market conditions. We will continue to evaluate all of our options to responsibly navigate Coinbase through the current cycle.

We always knew crypto would be volatile, but that volatility alongside larger economic factors may test the company, and us personally, in new ways. If we’re flexible and resilient, and remain focused on the long term, Coinbase will come out stronger on the other side. These challenges can be career-defining, helping us learn and grow. And at the end of the day, I think you’ll be proud to have helped Coinbase navigate this next part of its journey.

L.J.

Forward-Looking Statements

This blog post contains forward looking statements. These forward looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual results due to a variety of factors. The risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the results predicted are more fully detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of the date of this blog post. We undertake no obligation to update these statements as a result of new information or future events.

Update on Hiring Plans was originally published in The Coinbase Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.