Robinhood Sheds Jobs for Third Time Since April 2022: WSJ

Trading platform Robinhood (HOOD) has shed 7% of its full-time staff, about 150 employees, in a third round of layoffs since April 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported citing an internal company message.

The company, whose customers use the platform to trade stocks, options and crypto, made cuts as it adjusts to a slowdown in customer trading activity, the WSJ said. The number of active traders had dropped to fewer than 11 million in May, down from a peak of 21 million a month in second-quarter 2021, according to the newspaper. Crypto trading volume for May fell 68% from a year earlier, the company said.

"We’re ensuring operational excellence in how we work together on an ongoing basis. In some cases, this may mean teams make changes based on volume, workload, org design, and more," a spokesperson told CoinDesk.

The layoffs were made to “adjust to volumes and to better align team structures,” Chief Financial Officer Jason Warnick told the WSJ in a message.

In 2022, the company reduced headcount by 9% (approximately 340 people out of 3,800) in a first round of cuts and 23% (780 workers) in the second.

Read More: Robinhood Ends Support for All Tokens Named in SEC Lawsuit as Securities

UPDATE (June 28, 05:35 UTC): Adds comment from Robinhood's spokesperson in third paragraph.