Consensys CEO Joe Lubin has clarified that the company’s restructuring plan will affect 162 permanent employees.
Blockchain firm Consensys has initiated a significant restructuring, reducing its workforce by over 20%.
CEO Joe Lubin confirmed that the move affected 162 employees as part of an effort to streamline operations and accelerate the decentralization of its key services.
Lubin cited several motivations for the restructuring, with long-term financial sustainability amid potential economic fluctuations being one.
“The first obvious one, which is not necessarily more important than the others, is just the long-term financial sustainability aspects in the face of potential economic volatility,” he explained.
He added that Consensys is focusing on becoming a “smaller, much more agile organization” to leverage the extensive capabilities it has developed.
Known for creating Ethereum-based products like MetaMask and the Layer-2 protocol Linea, Consensys currently has a workforce of 828.
Consensys is supporting affected employees, including generous severance, extended healthcare, outplacement services, and an increase in stock option exercise windows from 12 to 36 months.
SEC Legal Issues Not a Factor in Restructuring
Despite ongoing legal battles with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over what Lubin has called “gross overreach” by SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s administration, he dismissed the notion that legal costs impacted the restructuring.
“We didn’t overextend our resources at all. We didn’t pick this fight. The SEC has been carpet bombing the ecosystem for years with investigations, Wells notices and lawsuits,” he said.
Buterin’s Call for Decentralization
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, recently encouraged Layer-2 projects to prioritize decentralization, expressing concerns about potential centralization risks in 2024.
Lubin stated that Consensys had been working toward decentralization independently, affirming,
“Anything that Vitalik says in that vein gets a cheer from me and from the company, but there’s no extra pressure on us from Vitalik or from anybody outside of Consensys.”
Focus on MetaMask, Linea, and Infura
The restructuring impacts all departments, with Consensys now emphasizing initiatives in MetaMask, Linea, and Infura.
Infura, which is transforming a decentralized infrastructure network (DIN), is integral to MetaMask’s functionality.
“We are focusing more intensely on activities in MetaMask and activities in Linea. Infura has already been under transformation through DIN, the decentralized infrastructure network,” Lubin said.
The goal is to expand MetaMask’s compatibility across various blockchains, including non-EVM networks, relying on DIN’s third-party capabilities where necessary.
Consensys ultimately aims to convert its suite of Ethereum products into protocols, including MetaMask, Infura, Truffle, Diligence, Besu, Teku, GNARK, DIN, and Linea.
