Bolt CEO Ryan Breslow fired the company's entire human resources department after alleging the team invented problems that did not exist [1, 2].
The move highlights a growing tension between traditional corporate governance and the aggressive management styles of some fintech founders. By eliminating a core administrative function, Breslow is testing whether a lean, non-traditional approach to personnel management can accelerate a company's turnaround.
Speaking Tuesday at Fortune's Workforce Innovation Summit, Breslow said the decision followed his observation that the HR team was creating problems that did not exist [1, 2]. He said that these issues vanished after the employees were fired [1, 2].
"We had an HR team, and that HR team was creating problems that didn't exist," Breslow said [1]. "Those problems disappeared when I fired them," he said [1].
Breslow, whose net worth is estimated at $300 million [4], said the dysfunction was due to a culture of entitlement within the department [5]. He said that removing the team eliminated the problems they had previously identified or created [1, 5].
Following the dissolution of the HR department, Breslow said he created a new entity called "people-ops" to handle company personnel needs [3]. This shift represents a move away from traditional HR frameworks toward a model the CEO believes is more aligned with the startup's operational goals [3].
"HR was creating problems that didn't exist, so I disbanded the whole department and created 'people‑ops'," Breslow said [3].
“"Those problems disappeared when I fired them."”
This action reflects a broader trend of 'hardcore' corporate restructuring where founders remove middle-management layers they perceive as bureaucratic obstacles. By replacing a standard HR department with 'people-ops,' Bolt is attempting to strip away the regulatory and compliance-heavy nature of human resources in favor of a more agile, though potentially more volatile, workplace culture.
