New Layoffs Hit Ethereum Incubator ConsenSys

Update (April 20, 16:15 UTC): ConsenSys confirmed the layoffs in a statement to CoinDesk, explaining they were a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The downsizing accounts for 14 percent of its headcount, or just over 90 people, the company said.

ConsenSys is laying off dozens more staffers, CoinDesk has learned.

The Brooklyn, N.Y.-based firm known for incubating Ethereum projects is cutting “just over 90” people, a spokesperson confirmed. That’s about 14 percent of the firm’s headcount.

“The global COVID-19 pandemic has deeply impacted the world’s health and livelihood,” the company spokesperson told CoinDesk. “ConsenSys has carefully analyzed its business in relation to what is occurring globally. Like most of its peers, the company is seeing extraordinary uncertainty in the market, with businesses rebalancing priorities and reevaluating timelines.”

The move, word of which leaked out after a company town hall meeting Monday, follows a round of layoffs announced in February. Those cuts also shrunk the firm’s headcount by approximately 14 percent, the company said at the time. The numbers indicate that ConsenSys may have begun the year with just under 850 employees, and now retains just over 550.

Led by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, ConsenSys laid off about 13 percent of its workforce in a late-2018 restructuring dubbed “ConsenSys 2.0.” The cuts in February 2020 were related to that strategic overhaul.

This is a developing story.