Near Foundation Announces 40% Workforce Cut Amid Strong Financial Health
Summary:
The Near Foundation is downsizing its workforce by 40% in a bid to streamline its team and operations. The layoffs, affecting 35 marketing, business development, and community teams’ employees, follow feedback regarding the organization's less than optimal effectiveness. Despite the layoffs, the financial health of the Near Foundation remains robust, with its reserves containing over $285 million in fiat currency, 305 million NEAR tokens worth over $1 billion, and $70 million in loans and investments. The Foundation's previous CEO, Marieke Flament, resigned without offering specific reasons amid this, though under her leadership, the NEAR protocol saw a significant growth boost.
The Near Foundation, known for its layer-1 protocol, has disclosed a reduction of 40% of its workforce. The significant downsizing aims to allow the core team to concentrate their efforts on fewer but more impactful projects. As per the communication made on January 11, the termination of duties for 35 staff members spread across marketing, business expansion, and community engagement teams is informed by feedback that revealed the Foundation's potential underutilization due to its slow pace and multi-tasking approach. Terminated employees will receive assistance to find alternative engagements within the Near system, the larger Web3 sector, or elsewhere, as per the Foundation’s pledge. Despite these layoffs, Near Foundation's financial stability seems unaffected. Presently, its reserve holds over $285 million in fiat currencies, 305 million NEAR tokens, valued at over $1 billion, and $70 million in the form of investments and credits. Illia Polosukhin, the organization's CEO, highlighted the Foundation’s enduring capacity to back Near Protocol's growth, advancement, and greater decentralization, despite the current affairs. Marieke Flament, the previous CEO of Near Foundation, quit her roles on September 21, 2023, without giving precise reasons to back her decision. During Flament's leadership between 2021 and 2023, the organization's treasury accumulated 330 million NEAR, valued about $350 million at the time of her exit. Furthermore, Near Protocol's daily user volume surged from 50,000 to 3 million, and Twitter followers increased from 200,000 to surpass 2 million. The growth was aided by over 2,000 press coverages.
Published At
1/11/2024 10:40:00 PM
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