In the current bear market, the Australian crypto exchange Swyftx has had to lay off 21% of its staff to lower costs. Swyftx blamed inflation, a recession, and the bear market as the reasons behind the unfortunate lay-offs.
In an Aug. 17 note from co-CEOs Alex Harper and Ryan Parsons agonized that 74 colleagues had to be let go, in view of the current economic climate that they were hired has shifted dramatically to what it is today:
“As you’re all aware, we are operating in an uncertain business environment, with levels of domestic inflation not seen in over two decades, rising interest rates, highly volatile markets across all asset classes, and the potential for a global recession.”
A representative from Swyftx explained the decision a little further to Cointelegraph, stressing that “this was a hard decision but a prudent one that ensures our costs are compatible with this extended period of economic uncertainty.”
Swift joins a long list of crypto firms to have suffered due to the hefty downward trend in crypto this year, with U.S. exchanges Coinbase and Gemini slashing their headcount by 18% and 20%.
The crypto exchange declared in June, that it will be merging with the Australian online investing platform Superhero as part of a $1.5 billion merger which is anticipated to complete around mid-2023.
At the time, Superhero co-founder John Winters said that the two platforms will operate independently of each other and that no job losses are expected as part of the merger.
The announcement also follows a major employee cull from Singapore-based exchange Crypto.com which laid off 260 people in June equating to 5% of its employee base.
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