Read the email Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong sent when he laid off 14% of his staff

Coinbase is cutting around 700 roles—or 14% of its workforce—because of AI, according to CEO Brian Armstrong.

On Tuesday, Armstrong made a post on X that included the full email he sent to employees regarding the layoffs.

“We’re currently in a down market and need to adjust our cost structure now so that we emerge from this period leaner, faster, and more efficient for our next phase of growth,” Armstrong wrote.

Coinbase will not only cut costs and reduce head count but also “fundamentally” change how the company operates, he said. 

For one, Armstrong said the company would flatten its structure to a maximum of five layers between executives and employees.

The billionaire crypto CEO said that in cutting middle manager roles, which “slow things down and create coordination tax,” leaders will have as many as 15 direct reports and the company will have a “leaner cost structure that is built to perform through all market cycles.”

Coinbase will focus on “AI-native talent,” Armstrong said. He also explained that the company will experiment with one-person teams, in which a single person will complete the tasks of engineers, designers, and product managers.

Coinbase is just the latest company laying off employees in the name of artificial intelligence. 

Meta plans to lay off 10% of its workforce this month. In an internal meeting, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said AI spending and slower sales during the U.S. war in Iran were some of the factors that led to the downsizing. Last month, Snap announced it would cut 16% of its employees due to AI advances. In February, Block shrunk its workforce from 10,000 to 6,000, and CEO Jack Dorsey said he hopes AI will replace middle management roles.

Armstrong said impacted U.S. employees will receive a minimum of 16 weeks’ base pay, as well as two weeks’ pay per year worked. Coinbase employees who are on a work visa will receive “extra transition support,” he added.

Read Armstrong’s full X post below:

This is an email I sent earlier today to all employees at Coinbase:

Team,

Today I’ve made the difficult decision to reduce the size of Coinbase by ~14%. I want to walk you through why we’re doing this now, what it means for those affected, and how this positions us for the future.

Why now

Two forces are converging at the same time. We need to be front footed to respond to both.

First, the market. Coinbase is well-capitalized, has diversified revenue streams, and is well-positioned to weather any storm. Crypto is also on the verge of the next wave of adoption, with stablecoins, prediction markets, tokenization, and more taking off. However, our business is still volatile from quarter to quarter. While we’ve managed through that cyclicality many times before and come out stronger on the other side, we’re currently in a down market and need to adjust our cost structure now so that we emerge from this period leaner, faster, and more efficient for our next phase of growth.

Second, AI is changing how we work. Over the past year, I’ve watched engineers use AI to ship in days what used to take a team weeks. Non-technical teams are now shipping production code, and many of our workflows are being automated. The pace of what’s possible with a small, focused team has changed dramatically, and it’s accelerating every day.

All of this has led us to an inflection point, not just for Coinbase, but for every company. The biggest risk now is not taking action. We are adjusting early and deliberately to rebuild Coinbase to be lean, fast, and AI-native. We need to return to the speed and focus of our startup founding, with AI at our core.

What this means

To get there, we are not just reducing head count and cutting costs, we’re fundamentally changing how we operate: rebuilding Coinbase as an intelligence, with humans around the edge aligning it. What does this mean in practice?

Fewer layers, faster decisions: We are flattening our org structure to 5 layers max below CEO/COO. Layers slow things down and create coordination tax. The future is small, high-context teams that can move quickly. Leaders will own much more, with as many as 15+ direct reports. Fewer layers also means a leaner cost structure that is built to perform through all market cycles.

No pure managers: Every leader at Coinbase must also be a strong and active individual contributor. Managers should be like player-coaches, getting their hands dirty alongside their teams.

AI-native pods: We’ll be concentrating around AI-native talent who can manage fleets of agents to drive outsized impact. We’ll also be experimenting with reduced pod sizes, including “one person teams” with engineers, designers, and product managers all in one role.

In short: AI is bringing a profound shift in how companies operate, and we’re reshaping Coinbase to lead in this new era. This is a new way of working, and we need to leverage AI across every facet of our jobs.

To those who are affected

I know there are real people behind these decisions—talented colleagues who have poured themselves into this company and our mission. To those of you who will be leaving: thank you. You’ve helped build Coinbase into what it is today, and I am sincerely grateful for everything you’ve done.

All impacted team members will receive an email to their personal account in the next hour with more information, and an invitation to meet with an HRBP and a senior leader in your organization. Coinbase system access has been removed today. I know this feels sudden and harsh, but it is the only responsible choice given our duty to protect customer information.

To those affected, we will be providing a comprehensive package to support you through this transition. U.S. employees will receive a minimum of 16 weeks base pay (plus 2 weeks per year worked), their next equity vest, and 6 months of COBRA. Employees on a work visa will get extra transition support. Those outside of the U.S. will receive similar support, based on local factors and subject to any consultation requirements.

Coinbase prides itself on talent density. Our employees are among the most talented people in the world, and I have no doubt that your skills and experience will be highly sought after as you pursue your next chapters.

How we move forward

To the team that is staying, I know this is a difficult day. We’re saying goodbye to colleagues and friends you’ve been in the trenches with. But here’s what I want you to know as we move forward together:

Over the past 13 years, we have weathered four crypto winters, gone public, and built the most trusted platform in our industry. We’ve made it this far by making hard decisions and by always staying focused on our mission. This time will be no different—nothing has changed about the long-term outlook of our company or industry. And most importantly, our mission has never been more important for the world. Increasing economic freedom requires a new financial system, and we’re building it.

The Coinbase that emerges from this will be more capable than ever to achieve our mission.

Brian

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