Polygon Labs to cut 19% of staff

Polygon announced that it laid off 19% of its workforce, or 60 employees, in a blog post on Thursday.

The post, written by CEO Marc Boiron, said that the decision to lay off staff stems from the company’s attempt to right-size, rather than from the company’s financial state. 

“To move as ambitiously and nimbly as possible where everyone is able to take ownership of what they’re doing, we must create an efficient surgical team, with significantly less bureaucracy,” Boiron said in the post.

“Right-sizing for the sake of enhanced performance, rather than for financial reasons, may seem unconventional. The reality is that achieving our mission often demands challenging decisions, and while difficult, the Founders and I agree that we must move forward in a thoughtful way that gives us the greatest chance to execute successfully,” he added.

Boiron added that the team rapidly grew during the last bull market, which “diluted” the company’s goals of “extreme focus, diligence, efficiency and agility.”

The impacted employees will receive a two-month severance package and health benefits through February, according to the post. 

Additionally, the company will be “increasing everyone’s total compensation (the sum of base salary and current annual MATIC pay) by at least 15% effective retroactively to Jan. 1, 2024.” New employees will receive a 5% increase.

Polygon Ventures, which was spun off from Polygon Labs last year, will serve “as a standalone.” The team has 10 employees.

“As they work to raise a new fund, having them serve as a standalone entity made the most sense from a variety of perspectives,” Boiron said.

Read more: PowerLoom to host first node mint on Polygon’s PoS

Polygon ID will also be spun off “in the coming months.” The team employs 33 people.

“This decision aligns with our strategy of focusing the Polygon Labs team on core protocol development work consistent with our mission,” he said.

---

Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

• Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
• Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
• Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
• 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
• Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
• The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
• Supply Shock: Tracking Bitcoin’s rise from internet plaything worth less than a penny to global phenomenon disrupting money as we know it.