zkSync Founder's Open Letter: Why Are We Laying Off Employees?

Original source: Alex G. X account

Author: Alex G.

Compiled by: Deep Tide TechFlow

I just sent a message to the Matter Labs team:

Today, I am announcing the most challenging transformation at Matter Labs in six years. We are undergoing an organizational restructuring and have to say goodbye to many excellent team members (about 16% of the team). We have communicated individually with each affected employee.

As the founder and CEO, I take full responsibility for this decision and all previous decisions. To those colleagues who are leaving: I regret that we have to come to this point. It pains me to part ways with talented employees for reasons unrelated to performance. I will explain the reasons behind this decision, how we will care for the departing team members, and what this means for the future of Matter Labs.

Reasons for Our Decision

Since its inception, Matter Labs has been committed to building a streamlined and focused team, centered around a core mission—driving the widespread adoption of cryptocurrency in the realm of personal sovereignty. A small and elite team allows us to steadily advance impactful innovations and continuously adapt to external changes.

This year, we have seen significant changes in our market environment and business needs. We have noticed that many teams developing on zkSync Era now require different technologies and support than before. At the same time, the demand for ZK chains has also surged.

Matter Labs' role in the decentralized zkSync ecosystem is also evolving. The launch of Elastic Chain and ZK Nation presents a good opportunity to reassess our strategy, goals, and team composition. We conducted comprehensive organizational planning and found that our current talent and role configuration do not fully meet our needs. Therefore, we reviewed every role in the company to ensure the right people are in the right positions to maintain the agility and efficiency of the team.

How We Are Supporting Departing Employees

For the employees leaving today, we have developed a comprehensive severance package, including:

Base Salary: Ensuring 3 months of base salary.

Medical and Mental Health Support: Providing 4 months of continued coverage.

Vesting of Options: Options will fully vest before the official departure date, and for employees who have served over 6 months, the vesting period will be waived.

Career Support:

• Option to share the list of affected employees with investors.
• Providing one-on-one career support meetings with leadership team members to help plan career development.
• Offering optimization suggestions for resumes and LinkedIn profiles.

Equipment: Employees can retain company-provided laptops and other equipment purchased through company allowances.

Immigration: Assistance with immigration matters will be provided for the next 4 months.

Looking Ahead

As CEO, my responsibility is to continuously simplify the organizational structure to avoid similar painful adjustments in the future. I will ensure that all new roles and functions align with our long-term strategy and maintain the highest performance standards.

While today's changes are painful, I am confident about the future. Our technical demands are growing, with about a dozen chains launching on Elastic Chain just this year, and more teams developing on zkSync Era. We are also fortunate to have sufficient financial resources to thrive even in a prolonged bear market. We will continue to grow and recruit talent that is crucial for the next phase of Matter Labs.

Finally, I want to express my deep gratitude to every team member, both those who are leaving and those who will continue with us. Thank you for your invaluable contributions to our journey. It is because of your efforts that Matter Labs has become what it is today: a transformative force driving global freedom.

I will provide the team with more details about today's decision so that everyone can hear my explanation directly. Additionally, your team leaders will organize team-specific forums and meetings within this week.