Coinbase announced Tuesday that it is firing roughly 14% [1] of its global workforce to restructure operations around artificial intelligence.
The move signals a pivot for the San Francisco-based exchange, which is attempting to offset a slump in cryptocurrency trading by replacing traditional roles with AI-driven systems.
CEO Brian Armstrong said the company is "fundamentally changing how we operate, rebuilding the company as an intelligence, with humans around the edge aligning it." This shift follows a period of reduced activity in the crypto market, prompting the company to flatten its organizational structure.
As part of the transition, Armstrong said the company will flatten its org chart to five [2] management layers. The company intends to concentrate future hiring around what it calls "AI-native pods" to streamline efficiency.
"AI is changing how we work," Armstrong said.
The layoffs affect employees globally, though the company maintains its primary headquarters in San Francisco. The restructuring aims to move the firm toward an AI-centric operational model to remain competitive as the digital asset landscape evolves.
Armstrong said the goal is to move away from traditional management hierarchies and toward a more automated framework. By reducing the number of management layers, the company seeks to accelerate decision-making and technical deployment.
“"AI is changing how we work."”
This restructuring reflects a broader trend of technology firms utilizing AI not just as a product feature, but as a replacement for human labor to reduce overhead. By shifting to 'AI-native pods' and reducing management layers, Coinbase is betting that an automated operational core can sustain the business through the volatile cycles of the cryptocurrency market.
