Tough Decision, Polygon Labs Lays Off 60 Employees To Improve Performance

JAKARTA - Polygon Labs, a blockchain developer focused on layer-2 solutions on the Ethereum network, announced a 19% cut of its total workforce on Thursday, February 1 yesterday. This decision was taken by the company to increase the focus, accuracy, efficiency, and scarcity of the team amid the company's rapid growth.

In a blog post, Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron called the decision a "difficult, but necessary" step to ensure the success of the company's mission. He said that the latest bullish market spike had "disbursed" the quality of the team, so Polygon Labs had to cut a total of 60 people from various divisions.

Polygon's CEO admits this may seem unnatural. "In order to increase performance, not for financial reasons, it may look unconventional," said Boiron.

"The reality is that [to] achieve our mission is often faced with difficult decisions, and even though it is difficult, the Founders and I agree that we must move forward in a way full of thought to give us the greatest chance to run successfully," he added.

Boiron added that cutting these employees would make the Polygon Labs team lighter, more flexible, and more focused on missions. He also said that the remaining employees would receive a 15% increase in compensation. Those who are fired will receive two months of severance pay and health benefits.

The news of this dismissal is in line with a series of reshuffles carried out by Polygon Labs previously. In July 2023, the former president of Polygon Labs, Ryanmen, resigned from office. Boiron, who took over the role, previously served as chief legal officer for Polygon Labs and also a decentralized exchange dYdX.

In addition, Boiron also announced that Polygon ID, a blockchain-based digital identity platform, will stand alone as a separate entity with 33 employees. Polygon ID is one of Polygon Labs' flagship products that aims to make it easier for users to manage their identities in various blockchain-based applications.

Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal expressed his sadness over the dismissal of this employee through platform X. He said that this was a necessary step to bring Polygon Labs back to its roots. He also emphasized that Polygon Labs' tireless focus was building a planet-sized blockchain network to support the mass adoption of digital assets.

Polygon Labs, founded in 2017 under the name Matic, is one of the world's leading blockchain developers. Polygon Labs has launched a variety of products and services that allow developers and users to interact with Ethereum networks at low cost, high speed, and high scalability.

According to data from CoinMarketCap, Polygon's original token, MATIC, has a market capitalization of around $8.5 billion (Rp133.9 trillion) and is ranked 18th among all crypto assets. MATIC's current price is around $1.4 (Rp21,948) per coin, up about 1,300% since early 2023.