Polygon Labs Lays Off 60 Employees to Boost Efficiency, Announces New Ventures

Polygon Labs has announced a 19% reduction in its workforce as a strategic move to refine its operational efficiency. This decision translates to the layoff of 60 employees, a step that CEO Marc Boiron clarified is not aimed at cutting costs but at streamlining the team for enhanced agility and reduced bureaucracy.

To ease the transition, Polygon Labs will grant the affected employees two months' worth of severance pay and health benefits, in addition to a significant 15% salary hike for the remaining employees. Boiron also shared the opt-in contact list of laid-off employees.

Boiron spoke of the layoff decision on X, emphasizing that it is aimed at improving the team's performance rather than being motivated by financial needs, a strategy he admits might not be conventional. Polygon Labs is focusing on becoming an "efficient, surgical team." The response on social media to this announcement broadly reflected a consensus on the necessity and rationale behind the decision, recognizing it as a difficult yet essential move for Polygon's strategy.

At Polygon Labs, we are on a mission to fundamentally change the Internet so that everyone in the world is empowered to equitably access its value. Building the infrastructure to make that happen is no easy feat. It requires executing ambitiously and nimbly with an efficient,…
— Marc Boiron (@0xMarcB) February 1, 2024

Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, said that the decision to part ways with colleagues was tough but necessary to realign Polygon Labs with its foundational 'underdog' ethos. This shift aims to streamline the organization, making it more agile and focused on its mission. The restructuring includes spinning off Polygon Ventures and planning for PolygonID to become an independent entity.

Polygon Ventures, a 10-person team, has been spun off from Polygon Labs and rebranded as P2 Ventures. The division focuses on early-stage investments in Web3, particularly within the Polygon ecosystem, and is raising a new fund as a separate entity. A 33-person PolygonID team will also spin off in the coming months. This decision was made to ensure the success of PolygonID, which aims to enable users to prove their identity without exposing private information.

Boiron expressed optimism about the future of Polygon Labs and the Polygon ecosystem, emphasizing the progress made in creating interconnected zero-knowledge (ZK) networks and the strong collaboration within the Polygon community. He noted that Polygon attracts Web3 builders for a wide range of use cases and highlighted the growth and talent of the Polygon Labs team, particularly in the ZK sector.

Boiron concluded by expressing his confidence in achieving Polygon's mission with the dedicated team and builders in the ecosystem, urging everyone to focus on the strategy and ignore distractions.

The layoffs occur amidst a broader trend of job cuts across various industries. Asset manager BlackRock reportedly intends to reduce its workforce by almost 3% (500 employees). Similarly, financial payments company Block terminated the employment of 1,000 team members as part of its initiative to streamline operations, according to Business Insider.

Polygon's native POL token's price dropped from $0.76 on Thursday after reaching $0.83 the previous day, according to CoinMarketCap data. POL has been growing steadily over the past day and currently sits around $0.81.