Yuga Labs, Ledger Lay Off Staff, Citing 'Macroeconomic Headwinds' And 'Restructuring'

Blockchain technology company Yuga Labs and hardware cryptocurrency wallet maker Ledger joined other tech companies in downsizing their workforce, citing "macroeconomic headwinds" and "restructuring" as reasons behind the latest move.

Yuga Labs, best known in the crypto world as the company behind the popular Non-Fungible Token (NFT) projects Boread Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), among many others, said last week that it has restructured the business, resulting in the layoffs or removal of several roles.

The Florida-based $4 billion start-up also noted that as it rethinks its priorities, its restructuring efforts significantly affect its employees in the United States.

"Yuga Labs is announcing a restructuring that will better focus our team on our core priorities. While certain roles have been impacted, these changes are necessary to evolve as an organization," the company announced in its official X account last Friday and referred the community to a "note written by @dalegre," its CEO.

In the team email written by Yuga Labs CEO Daniel Alegre after he left Activision and joined the blockchain firm in the early part of the year, he emphasized the company's need to refocus because it has taken on too much internally, and it needs to also tap external partners moving forward.

"I realized very quickly that there were a number of projects that, while well-intentioned, either spread the team too thin or required execution expertise beyond our core competencies," Alegre wrote in the said email to the team that was also shared with the public.

Yuga Labs co-founder Greg Solano said, "I'm sure many of you have seen the news that Yuga is undergoing a restructure today. Shit day obviously. Hurts to part ways with team members who have been in the trenches with us. But we needed to make some changes to the company in order to make sure we're set up for longterm success."

He added, "We've been spread quite thin for a while as a company, and while there have been some wins, our execution in other areas hasn't been up to our standards. With this reorg, Yuga is still over 120 employees and is focused on specific priorities, as outlined in Daniel's blog."

Besides Yuga Labs, Ledger has also reportedly trimmed its workforce, which led to more than 80 people losing their jobs.

"Despite this hard work, we must continue to make decisions for the longevity of the business. Macroeconomic headwinds are limiting our ability to generate revenue, and in response to the current market conditions and business realities, we must reduce roles across the global business. Sadly, this means we are making the difficult decision to reduce 12% of the roles at Ledger," its CEO Pascal Gauthier stated in a blog.

"Our Management and People team are working hard to make this a smooth transition for everyone, and as a French headquartered company, we will continue to engage in processes that take into account local employment laws to bring a resolution forward that is respectful for those departing," Gauthier said.

He added that "for the next part of our journey, know this: we will come out of this period stronger, and I'm counting on everyone at Ledger to step up as a leader. We are in an important part of the development of our industry and it's our duty to act responsibly and seriously to push through these difficult times."

The tech layoffs that started in 2022 continue to claim thousands of tech workers' jobs this year which were driven by big names in the industry like Google, Amazon, Yahoo, Microsoft, Meta, Zoom and startups, among many others.

"A whopping 24 companies joined our Tech Layoffs Tracker this week, spanning industries from edtech to fintech. Notably, several sectors that surged during the pandemic — crypto, NFTs, gaming, and logistics — were hit hard," business information company Crunchbase reported, adding that "more than 173,939 workers at U.S.-based tech companies have been laid off in mass job cuts so far in 2023, according to our latest tally."