The online trading platform Robinhood, which popularized one-click trading and helped fuel last year’s meme stock frenzy, announced that it would lay off about 23 percent of its workforce. It is the second layoff initiative within just a few months. In a blog post, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said that the layoffs would affect employees across the company, especially those in operations, marketing, and program management roles. Shares of Robinhood rose 11.7% on Wednesday following the layoff announcement.
In April, Robinhood laid off 340 workers, about 9 percent of its employees. Since then, Vlad Tenev wrote, further worsening of the economy, including inflation and the crash of the crypto market, has “reduced customer trading activity and assets under custody.”
Tenev did say that Robinhood was looking for potential acquisitions. The company reported $6 billion in cash on its balance sheet at the end of the quarter.
In May, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried revealed a stake in Robinhood, spurring speculation about a potential takeover bid from the crypto-focused brokerage. Bankman-Fried has since said FTX is not looking to buy Robinhood outright.
