Bybit announces second round of layoffs in 2022 to survive bear market
Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO of Bybit, announced a reorganization plan amid the prolonged bear market that involves a steep reduction in firm’s workforce.
While bear markets may weed out bad actors, they also force existing players to rethink their business strategies to offset resultant losses. For example, Bybit has announced mass layoffs for the second time in 2022.
Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO of Bybit, announced a reorganization plan amid the prolonged bear market — one that involves a steep reduction in the company’s workforce. The “planned downsizing” will affect employees across the board:
“We are all saddened by the fact this reorganisation will impact many of our dear Bybuddies and some of our oldest friends.”
Independent reporter Colin Wu reported that the layoff ratio was 30% and that affected employees would receive three months’ worth of salary. Wu previously reported in June that Bybit silently let employees go in the first round of layoffs, citing unsustainable growth. Bybit’s employee headcount had grown from a few hundred to over 2,000 in two years.
1) Difficult decision made today, but tough times demand tough decisions. I have just announced plans to reduce our workforce as part of an ongoing re-organisation of the business as we move to refocus our efforts for the deepening bear market.
— Ben Zhou (@benbybit) December 4, 2022
While announcing the incoming downsizing, Zhou shared his intent to make the offboarding process as smooth as possible. Explaining the decision, he said:
“It’s important to ensure Bybit has the right structure and resources in place to navigate the market slowdown and is nimble enough to seize the many opportunities ahead.”
Related: Bybit releases reserve wallet addresses amid calls for transparency
On Nov. 24, Bybit launched a $100 million support fund to provide liquidity to institutional traders following the collapse of FTX.
The fund was made available to eligible market makers and high-frequency trading institutions and distributed at a 0% interest rate.
The maximum amount distributed per applicant was $10 million, under the condition that the funds would be used for spot and Tether (USDT) perpetual trading on Bybit.
