Brisbane cryptocurrency exchange Swyftx has laid off 74 employees following its merger with stock trading platform Superhero in June.
Co-CEOs Alex Harper and Ryan Parsons announced the news to the a320 team at a “townhall” meeting on Wednesday, saying they had decided to downsize the company’s location in the face of global economic headwinds.
The job losses represent 21% of the existing workforce, which will be reduced to around 250.
Co-founded by Harper and Angus Goldman in 2018, Swyftx has more than 600,000 private and corporate investors in Australia and New Zealand and offers access to more than 320 digital currencies.
In a comment on his “Swyftxers”as the fintech calls its employees, Harper and Ryan said the decision was “a last resort” after “a period of pretty extraordinary growth.”
“As you all know, we operate in an uncertain business environment, with levels of domestic inflation not seen in more than two decades, rising interest rates, highly volatile markets in all asset classes and the potential for a global recession,” they wrote.
“We started growing our team in a very different world and now it makes sense to ensure our cost base is compatible with this extended period of economic uncertainty.”
Employees who lose their jobs will be told about their fate today.
Like some other startups with employee share plans that have laid off staff, Swyftfx removes any minimum service requirement for employee access to its ESOP and speeds up a vesting period.
“It is a difficult decision to say goodbye to 21% of our team,” the co-CEO told their staff.
“It is our shared responsibility to move this business forward and support each other as a team of over 250 people. Together we will not lose focus on building our vision.”