ConsenSys Fires 14% of Its Staff in Organizational Shakeup

New York-based Ethereum blockchain development firm ConsenSys has announced a 14 percent reduction of its workforce. The layoff is a part of the firm’s strategic move to separate its software development division from its venture investment arm and secure $200 million in funding from outside investors.

ConsenSys Cuts Staff by 14% To Secure Funding

According to Reuters, ConsenSys has announced a 14 percent staff cut as it aims to restructure its business model and secure a raise in funding. The layoffs fall within its human resources, finance, and marketing departments.

The firm released a statement on Tuesday (February 4, 2020) saying its software development division will operate separately from its venture investment arm. An excerpt from the company’s statement reads:

“The business is focused on two goals: providing developer tools and infrastructure for the developer, decentralized finance, and startup communities; and helping enterprises in the financial services, trade finance, and commerce sectors deploy and operationalize blockchain solutions.”

A spokesperson for the blockchain firm said ConsenSys will operate a software business composed of several of its products optimized for a modular stack such as Infura and Pegasys amongst others. Also, the company’s venture investment arm will continue to provide financial support for the blockchain ecosystem.

The strategic move by the blockchain development firm also aligns with its aim to secure $200 million in funding from outside investors after recording a low turnover in revenue for 2018. ConsenSys believes the restructuring will position the firm to attract foreign investors from regions such as Hong Kong and South Korea, and secure a larger revenue stream.

In a separate announcement, the blockchain firm revealed its acquisition of broker-dealer company Heritage Financial Systems, giving ConsenSys advisory and broker-dealer functionalities.

Blockchain Jobs Still Popular

ConsenSys’s decision to layoff 14 percent of its workforce mirrors a previous restructuring by the blockchain developer back in December 2018.

After a company-wide email from ConsenSys founder Joseph Lubin, the blockchain firm published a press release revealing a 13 percent staff cut after a difficult year for the crypto and blockchain industry, as reported by BTCManager.

The blockchain developer also shut down operations in India and the Philippines back in December 2019 due to the realignment of the sales and services teams, per reports.

Despite the recent layoffs, bitcoin and blockchain technology-related jobs have seen an increase in recent years. A report from Glassdoor back in October 2018 showed a 300 percent increase in blockchain-related jobs in the U.S.

Another report from LinkedIn revealed the blockchain developer role as the top emerging job of 2018 growing a massive 33 fold between 2014 and 2018. A similar report from LinkedIn’s competitor Indeed showed a 26 percent increase in crypto-related job postings in 2019.