ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, a person familiar with the matter said that the IRS will lay off about 6,700 employees on Thursday, and this restructuring may lead to staffing shortages at the agency during the critical tax filing season. The laid-off employees are all probationary employees, who typically have worked at the agency for one to two years and enjoy less job protection than long-term employees. The IRS has about 17,000 probationary employees in total.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, economists at Piper Jaffray believe that large-scale layoffs in U.S. federal agencies may not have a significant impact on the overall labor market.They reviewed the precedent from 2011 to 2014, when budget sequestration led to a reduction of 146,000 federal employees. During this period, the private sector added 7 million jobs as it recovered from the Great Recession, easily absorbing the decline in federal employment.Overall, the reduction in the federal workforce from 2011 to 2014 was not a major issue.According to the agency's statistics, the Trump administration may have laid off about 26,000 people so far, with up to 75,000 more accepting the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) severance compensation plan.

ChainCatcher news, according to MarketWatch, Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) disclosed in a report on Tuesday that as of December 31, 2024, the company has a total of 1,534 employees, a decrease of about 400 from last year, representing a decline of 20.7%. The department with the most layoffs was R&D, with 144 layoffs; followed by the consulting department, with 124 layoffs; and finally, the sales and marketing department, with 95 layoffs.Data shows that in 2024, Strategy's Bitcoin holdings increased more than double from 189,150 at the end of 2023 to 447,470. A total of $22.1 billion was spent on purchasing Bitcoin, with an average price of about $85,447 per Bitcoin. So far in 2025, approximately $3.2 billion has been spent on purchasing 31,270 Bitcoins.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jin Shi reports, based on five sources and the termination letter, another category of employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) received termination notices on Thursday, indicating that the Trump administration is not only dismissing probationary employees when laying off federal workers.These notices were sent to dozens of so-called "permanent employees," all of whom are full-time staff with contracts that have termination dates. The notices show that the date of the termination letter is February 13, issued by the agency's acting Chief Human Resources Officer Adam Martinez. Before this new round of layoffs, the CFPB had dismissed up to 70 probationary employees on Tuesday.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, approximately 75,000 federal employees have signed a voluntary resignation program initiated by the "Government Efficiency Office" led by Musk. This is below the number hoped for by the White House, increasing the likelihood of further large-scale layoffs.Insiders confirmed that this number accounts for about 3% of the total 2.4 million civilian employees in the federal government, while the White House had previously set a target of 5% to 10%. The so-called "buyout" program allows federal employees to leave in February but continue to receive their salaries until the end of September. The program stopped accepting applications on Wednesday evening. The Trump administration has repeatedly warned federal employees that the "buyout" program might be their best opportunity. Trump has already asked federal agencies to prepare for layoffs.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Washington Post, Musk's team has launched a federal layoff plan, and the White House plans large-scale layoffs.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jin10 reports, an internal memo shows that Meta (formerly Facebook) plans to conduct anticipated layoffs across the company next week while accelerating the hiring of machine learning engineers.The memo indicates that layoff notifications in most countries (including the United States) will begin to be issued at 5 AM local time on Monday.Employees in Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands are "not affected by layoffs due to local regulations," while employees in several other countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa will receive notifications between February 11 and February 18.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) led by Gary Gensler has called Binance.US a "fraudulent melting pot," and has used its power and influence to cut off the company's relationships with banks and U.S. dollar fiat channels. Binance.US interim CEO Norman Reed stated in an interview with CoinDesk that the SEC failed to provide any evidence to support its allegations in court.After the SEC filed a lawsuit, Binance.US lost thousands of customers, suffered billions of dollars in losses, and was forced to lay off 70% of its staff.Binance.US interim CEO Norman Reed said, "U.S. dollar fiat services are expected to be revitalized and put back into operation in the coming weeks; the company is preparing for a comeback, seeking to collaborate with banks, and re-engaging in dialogue with state regulators."

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, the CEO of the cryptocurrency data website Messari, Eric Turner, stated that earlier this week, Messari made some adjustments to its organizational structure to streamline operations and double down on the growth of its core product lines, laying off about 15% of its staff.A source familiar with the matter said that the company also decided not to renew contracts with some contractors.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, Citigroup's economist team elaborated on their views for 2025, expecting that companies will shift from reducing hiring to outright layoffs. This, in turn, will lead to a decline in consumer spending and business investment. They stated that even if their view on layoffs is incorrect, the slowdown in income growth that comes with the hiring slowdown still poses risks to spending. A loose labor market will alleviate inflationary pressures in the service sector, while weak global conditions will suppress commodity prices.They indicated that this will lead the Federal Reserve to take aggressive actions, expecting a 25 basis point rate cut at every meeting until July next year, bringing the federal funds rate down to between 3% and 3.25%. Meanwhile, market expectations anticipate that the federal funds rate will reach around 4% by then.Economists noted that if long-term interest rates decline, it will help the severely impacted real estate and manufacturing sectors, but the effect will not be significant. They stated, "If the labor market develops as we expect, with the unemployment rate about to rise sharply, then the weakness in consumer health will offset any demand boost from lower interest rates."

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Financial Ltd. announced that the company has conducted layoffs as part of a regular operational review.A Circle spokesperson stated that the number of layoffs accounts for less than 6% of Circle's total workforce. The company will continue to invest in AI-driven regional growth, efficiency, and productivity. Circle will regularly review our investments and expenditures, which includes investing in teams and operational infrastructure that need development, while slightly reducing spending in other business areas and some positions. In June, Circle stated that the company had 882 employees.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinGape, Bitcoin mining company Foundry has implemented layoffs, with the number of layoffs reaching up to 60%. According to anonymous sources, the layoffs affect employees in both the U.S. and international offices. The company had 250 employees and now only has 80 to 90 left.Foundry is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (DCG), which stated that the layoffs are aimed at helping to focus on DCG's next steps.

ChainCatcher news, the blockchain game Axie Infinity's developer Sky Mavis announced a 21% layoff. Given that its global team consists of about 250 people, this decision will affect around 50 employees.The company's co-founder Nguyen Thanh Trung stated that this move is part of a refocus on core products and long-term strategy. Trung emphasized that financial constraints were not the reason for this decision, and affected employees will receive severance pay and employment placement support. (TechinAsia)

ChainCatcher news, according to Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, the Wyoming-based crypto bank Custodia Bank will further lay off employees to save costs.The oral arguments for Custodia's lawsuit against the Federal Reserve will take place on January 21, coinciding with the second day of Trump's inauguration.Custodia CEO Caitlin Long stated, "I am incredibly proud of the Custodia team, the services we build for our clients, and our resilience during multiple innocent 'debanking' incidents. I especially thank Custodia's clients and shareholders who help us continue to fight for lasting banking access for the compliant U.S. crypto industry."

According to ChainCatcher news reported by Cointelegraph, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is scaling back its metaverse business operations, with dozens of employees in its metaverse division being laid off. The metaverse division has operations in both Shanghai and Hangzhou and was established in 2021.It is reported that the metaverse division previously received "tens of billions of yuan" in investment and employed hundreds of staff. The division will continue to exist, providing metaverse applications, tools, and services.

ChainCatcher news reports that a representative has confirmed that Kraken, the world's sixth-largest cryptocurrency exchange, has undergone a round of layoffs. As the news broke, board member Arjun Sethi was appointed as co-CEO to accelerate the company's growth alongside current CEO David Ripley.In a blog post announcing Sethi's appointment on Wednesday, the co-CEO wrote: "We are also launching transformations that fundamentally change how we innovate, build, and launch products for our customers. As we achieve net revenue of over $1 billion as a global remote organization, we have fallen into the trap of building organizational hierarchies."The article states that the company has become top-heavy, with corporate structures and decision-making leaning towards management, thus "we are making organizational discipline decisions to address this issue and eliminate hierarchies; we need to be leaner and faster."New York Times tech reporter Mike Isaac earlier posted on X that two internal sources disclosed that Kraken is laying off 15%. A representative from Kraken declined to comment on this figure.

ChainCatcher news, according to Fortune, the crypto wallet MetaMask developer Consensys has announced layoffs of over 160 employees.Consensys founder and CEO Joe Lubin stated, "The layoffs are a difficult but prudent decision to streamline our operations, affecting about 162 of Consensys's 828 employees." He added that the layoffs will extend to every department, including business development and product.The company stated that it is providing severance packages, including career support and extended healthcare benefits.

ChainCatcher news, cryptocurrency concept stock Beyond Inc. will lay off about 20%, with layoffs expected to be primarily implemented in the fourth quarter. The company's Chief Product Officer (CPO) Robinson was dismissed without cause, effective October 22, 2024.

ChainCatcher news, according to Blockworks, the company behind ZKsync, Matter Labs, announced a 16% layoff, affecting 24 employees.It is reported that this is the first layoff since the company was founded six years ago and is part of Matter Labs entering the decentralized "next phase," which requires refining the "right roles in place," aimed at ensuring the company has the appropriate roles and personnel to effectively accomplish its mission.Matter Labs CEO Alex Gluchowski clarified that the decision for layoffs is not due to the company's financial situation, and the company still plans to conduct "strategic hiring."

ChainCatcher news, according to Protos, Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten explained the reasons for pausing the IPO and large-scale layoffs.Cory Klippsten stated: "The IPO plan was put on hold due to disagreements with a major financing partner for the custody mining business, leading to an inability to achieve the expected cash flow in the short term. Swan increased marketing expenses and hired more employees in anticipation of submitting IPO documents for SEC approval, but as the reasons for the large expenditures and funding disappeared, we had to cut back on marketing and personnel."Previous news, the Bitcoin financial services company Swan Bitcoin has abandoned its plans for a public listing, closed its managed mining department, and laid off employees in multiple departments.