Coinbase CEO: We're Cutting 14% of Staff Thanks to AI

Coinbase is slimming down again, and this time the company is explicitly pointing to artificial intelligence as a reason why. CEO Brian Armstrong said Tuesday the crypto exchange will cut about 14% of its workforce—roughly 700 jobs—as it tries to become "leaner, faster, and more efficient" heading into what he described as the next phase of crypto adoption. In a letter, Armstrong said AI tools now let engineers ship work in days that once took teams weeks, and that many internal processes are being automated, reports Business Insider. "This is a new way of working, and we need to leverage AI across every facet of our jobs," Armstrong said, per MarketWatch.

Coinbase plans to flatten its structure to no more than five layers below the CEO, eliminate roles for "pure managers" in favor of hands-on leaders, and build "AI-native" teams, including some "one person" pods. Coinbase joins firms like Snap, Block, and Atlassian in crediting AI-driven productivity gains with enabling staff reductions. Impacted US employees will receive at least 16 weeks of base pay plus additional severance, equity vesting, and health coverage, Armstrong said.