After Spurt of Pandemic-Driven Hiring, Robinhood Cuts 9% of Full-Time Staff

Stock brokerage app Robinhood has said it’s laying off 9% of its full-time employees, according to a company blog post published Tuesday (April 26).

The company cited the period of huge growth between 2020 and early 2021, which was spurred by several factors, including the pandemic, low interest rates and stimulus payments from various governments.

That saw the company growing its accounts from 5 million to 22 million, with revenue going to over $1.8 billion in 2021. The company said its headcount was increased because of that.

“This rapid headcount growth has led to some duplicate roles and job functions, and more layers and complexity than are optimal,” CEO Vlad Tenev wrote in the post. “After carefully considering all these factors, we determined that making these reductions to Robinhood’s staff is the right decision to improve efficiency, increase our velocity, and ensure that we are responsive to the changing needs of our customers.”

The company said the layoffs are part of a way to make sure Robinhood is able to deliver on goals and its own missions. According to the post, Robinhood wants to boost product momentum through 2022 and plans to offer new products.

In the post, Tenev thanked departing colleagues for “all that you have done in support of Robinhood and our mission, and we wish you well in the future.”

“We will begin reaching out to each of you individually to discuss the next steps, including the significant support we will provide around separation packages, healthcare, and job search assistance,” Tenev wrote.“ To the rest of the team, thank you in advance for your ongoing commitment to Robinhood’s mission and the hard work that will be required to achieve it.”

PYMNTS wrote that Robinhood recently agreed to acquire a company, Ziglu Limited, an electronic money institution and cryptocurrency asset firm from the U.K.

Read more: Robinhood to Acquire Crypto Asset Platform Ziglu

Ziglu lets customers buy and sell crypto, earn yield, pay with a debit card and more. A blog post said the two companies have a common interest in the new era of digital money, in that it “brings a multitude of opportunities, and Ziglu exists to make those opportunities accessible to everyone.”