After reducing its headcount by 20% in June, the hobbled crypto lender BlockFi is reportedly offering staff buyouts as a means of reducing manpower.
According to the source, who is a BlockFi employee, the crypto lending platform is offering employees 10 weeks of paid time off and 10 weeks of COBRA, or Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, health insurance in exchange for their resignation.
Reportedly, the company assured employees that if they agreed to the buyout, they would be eligible for unemployment benefits.
“BlockFi initiated a voluntary separation program to right-size our organization for the current market environment. This is not an action we took lightly and want to ensure that employees have the resources to consider the decision that is right for them,” a BlockFi spokesperson informed.
The crypto lending platform has been in hot waters after reports surfaced that it was one of the companies involved in the liquidation of Three Arrows Capital (3AC). It also recently received a $240 million capital injection from FTX US.
Also, BlockFi joined other US bitcoin exchanges Gemini, Coinbase, and Crypto.com in reducing and laying off employees due to a “dramatic shift in macroeconomic conditions.”
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In any case, CEO Zac Prince stated in a tweet a week ago that the company should not be compared to its bankrupt former rivals in response to Pantera Capital CEO Dan Morehead.
“Putting BlockFi alongside Celsius and Lehman Brothers in the same sentence is misleading. They were / are bankrupt or insolvent – we are not. I would appreciate you editing this if you’re open to being more accurate with your writing.”
