OpenAI staff tells board to resign after Sam Altman ousting: Report

November 20, 2023 Coin Telegraph

505 out of 700 employees reportedly signed a letter stating that the board has undermined the company’s mission by firing Altman.

OpenAI staff are reportedly not happy about their board of directors firing founder Sam Altman. According to a social media post from tech podcaster Kara Swisher, employees sent a letter to the board demanding that they resign. A total of 505 out of 700 employees signed the letter, the post stated.

Breaking: 505 of 700 employees @OpenAI tell the board to resign. pic.twitter.com/M4D0RX3Q7a
— Kara Swisher (@karaswisher) November 20, 2023

OpenAI is the developer of the artificial intelligence (AI) program ChatGPT. The program has over 100 million active users, according to statistics site Tooltester.

Swisher posted a copy of the letter, which accused the board of undermining the mission of OpenAI. “We, the employees of OpenAI, have developed the best models and pushed the field to new frontiers,” it stated. But “the process through which you terminated Sam Altman and removed Greg Brokman from the board has jeopardized all of this work and undermined our mission and company.”

The letter suggested that “the most stabilizing path forward” would be “for [the board] to resign and put in place a qualified board that could lead the company forward in stability.”

According to the letter, employees have attempted to investigate why Altman was fired, but they have been unable to get a clear answer from the board, which “has never provided any written evidence” to confirm its allegations.

The OpenAI board fired Sam Altman on Nov. 17 for allegedly being “not consistently candid in his communications with the board.” Greg Brockman was also removed as chair on the same day. Some investors quickly protested his removal and asked that he be reinstated. On Nov. 20, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that Altman and Brockman have been hired at his firm to head up a new AI team.

Ava Labs cuts 12% of staff to ‘reallocate resources’ toward expansion

November 7, 2023 Coin Telegraph

AVA Labs

Ava Labs CEO Emin Gün Sirer however stressed the firm is well-positioned with significant runway and resources at its disposal.

Ava Labs, the team behind the Avalanche Blockchain, has confirmed it laid off 12% of its employees in a recent wave of staff cuts, citing the need to reallocate its resources.

The firm’s founder and CEO Emin Gün Sirer confirmed the news on Nov. 7 after several former Ava Labs employees announced on X (formerly Twitter) they had been laid off.

“This reduction in force affected 12% of Ava Labs, and allows us to reallocate resources to double down on the growth of our firm and the Avalanche ecosystem,” Gün Sirer said.

Gün Sirer acknowledged that bear markets can be tough to navigate but iterated Ava Labs is well-positioned with significant runway and resources at its disposal.

Today we parted ways with some of our Ava Labs team members. We are no longer a 12 person startup, but we strive to capture the speed and energy of a small, nimble team.

This reduction in force affected 12% of Ava Labs, and allows us to reallocate resources to double down on the…
— Emin Gün Sirer (@el33th4xor) November 7, 2023

Ava Labs has 335 employees, according to LinkedIn, which suggests around 40 people were impacted.

Ava Labs vice president of growth and strategy Garrison Yang hinted that many of the layoffs came from the firm’s marketing team.

In an Oct. 6 post on X, former game growth marketing team-member Zach Manafort was among those revealing he was laid off. His departure comes despite being active in the Avalanche community since 2020.

It looks like my time at @AvaLabs has come to its end. Despite the recent layoffs, my time here has been filled with invaluable experiences and growth.

As I transition forward, I am open to explore opportunities in marketing or operations.

My passion for these fields combined…
— Trading Aloha (@TradingAloha) November 6, 2023

The layoffs came as a surprise to Manafort who thought “things were just getting started.”

Brandon Suzuki, who also previously worked in Ava Labs’ marketing unit, similar confirmed that he was laid off on Oct. 6.

Unfortuantely, I was let go from @AvaLabs this morning. If anyone has resources for web3 marketers, please let me know!
— Brandon Suzuki (@BrandonSuzuki_) November 6, 2023

The most recent round of layoffs comes only days after a 50% staff cut by nonfungible token marketplace OpenSea on Nov. 3.

Neil Dundon, founder of CryptoRecruit, told Cointelegraph that job openings are still hard to come by in the crypto industry, despite a recent uptick in crypto market cap.

“The Crypto market is still very tough unfortunately right now. Money is tight. VC has dried up.”

Dundon said there needs to be more signs pointing to a bull market before there’s any meaningful uptick in hiring again.

“This is how it has always behaved and it’s no different this time around.”

On the other hand, Kevin Gibson and Daniel Adler, the founders of Proof of Search and Cryptocurrency Jobs, both told Cointelegraph that they have seen a slight increase in hiring over the last few weeks.

Gibson attributed this to cryptocurrency firms acting under the impression that they may lose out on the talent pool when market conditions improve in 2024. He added:

“It is still an employer's market so we are encouraging companies to take advantage of this to keep building as it will be very different in 2024.”

Gibson noted that some of these positions were only 2-3 day per week roles as opposed to full-time positions.

Adler shared a similar sentiment:

“As we're approaching the end of the year, teams are doing a final hiring push and following through on their hiring plans and roadmap.”

Magazine: How to protect your crypto in a volatile market — Bitcoin OGs and experts weigh in

Dev platform Stack Overflow axes 28% of staff as AI competition grows

October 17, 2023 Coin Telegraph

The technology Q&A forum has seen declines in web traffic since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022.

Developer and programmer platform Stack Overflow is cutting the company’s headcount by approximately 28% amid a rise in the popularity of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots.

On Oct. 16, Stack Overflow CEO, Prashanth Chandrasekar, made the announcement citing the challenges of macroeconomic pressures impacting the entire tech industry.

The firm is on a “path to profitability” and “continued product innovation,” said Chandrasekar who added, “This year we took many steps to spend less.”

Stack Overflow is a 15-year-old tech-focused question-and-answer forum for millions of developers, coders, and enthusiasts. It doubled its headcount in 2022 to 540, according to reports, so this week’s layoffs account for around 150 employees.

In August, Stack Overflow noted that its web traffic has seen a small decline compared to 2022, falling by an average of 5%.

"Conversely, in April of this year, we saw an above-average traffic decrease (~14%), which we can likely attribute to developers trying GPT-4 after it was released in March," it added.

The firm also said it expected generative AI to cause "some rises and falls in traditional traffic and engagement over the coming months."

Meanwhile, technology outlets such as Ars Technica have attributed the rise of AI chatbots to declines in the traffic and usage of traditional social knowledge-sharing platforms such as forums.

“Chatbots can offer more specific help than a 5-year-old forum post ever could,” it stated on October 17. ChatGPT and the like can also correct code, provide optimization suggestions, and explain what each line of code is doing.

New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business Professor Panos Ipeirotis also made a similar suggestion in an X post on Oct. 17.

*Screenshot from X post by professor Panos Ipeirotis on Oct. 17. Source: X/@ipeirotis*

However, Stack Overflow is working on its own answer to OpenAI’s ChatGPT in the form of “Overflow AI,” announced in July.

The goal is to introduce new features to leverage Stack Overflow's community knowledge to power AI that provides developers with personalized, trustworthy solutions. Chandrasekar concuded.

“As we refine our focus, priorities, and strategy it's to better meet the demands of our users, customers, and partners as part of this commitment to product innovation and the continued momentum of OverflowAI.”

Cointelegraph contacted Stack Overflow for comment but was referred back to the Oct. 16 announcement.

In related news, the Coinhouse crypto exchange has also axed 15% of its workforce according to reports.

The 2015-founded French exchange has laid off 10 of its 70 employees citing “reduced enthusiasm for Web3 and a fragile global economic environment.”

Earlier this month French hardware wallet provider announced a 12% staff reduction.

Magazine: ‘AI has killed the industry’: EasyTranslate boss on adapting to change

Chainalysis axes another 15% of staff citing difficult market conditions

October 3, 2023 Coin Telegraph

chainalysis

The Chainalysis workforce will be reduced by around 150 as the bear market bites deeper.

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has reduced its headcount by another 15% this week, citing the need to reduce expenses due to continued bear market blues.

On Oct. 3, Chainalysis confirmed to Cointelegraph that it had made the difficult decision to part ways with 15% of its employees, amounting to approximately 135 staff.

"While Chainalysis continues to be well positioned for long-term success as a consistently top-performing software company, we are very focused on growing efficiently and, due to market conditions, believe it necessary to reduce our expenses at this time,” said Chainalysis Vice President of Communications, Madeleine Kennedy.

We remain committed to our mission to build trust in blockchains among government agencies, financial institutions, and cryptocurrency businesses,” she added.

A spokesperson for Chainalysis confirmed the firm had around 900 employees before the most recent cuts.

It’s the second round of cuts for the company this year, as the ongoing crypto bear market has reduced the demand for commercial products. In February, Chainalysis cut around 40-50 jobs as part of a reorganization in light of worsening market conditions.

Digital asset market capitalization has fallen by 64% from its peak level almost two years ago. This year, markets have remained mostly flat with volatility, liquidity, and trading volumes dwindling. Moreover, Bitcoin has failed to break resistance above $30,000 several times and has remained range-bound for the past six months.

A Forbes report citing an email from CEO Michael Gronager to staff suggests the cuts will come mainly from marketing and business development teams focused on the private sector.

The Chainalysis spokesperson has confirmed the information in the report as accurate.

Very few leading crypto and blockchain companies have escaped from having to axe staff this year.

In September, Binance.US let a third of its staff go as regulatory pressure intensified. Last month also saw venture-backed blockchain firm R3 axe a fifth of its workforce.

Magazine: Blockchain detectives: Mt. Gox collapse saw birth of Chainalysis

Binance CEO brushes off negativity, assures firm has ‘no liquidity issues’

September 7, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Balance Sheet

Despite the so-called FUD, Changpeng Zhao said in reality, the crypto industry has scored a number of massive wins in recent weeks.

Binance co-founder and CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao has hosed down recent rumors against his firm, assuring its balance sheet and employee retention remain robust, despite the recent market uncertainty.

The Binance boss blamed negative news, rumors, bank runs, lawsuits, the closing of fiat channels, product wind-downs and employee turnovers for creating an environment of FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) in a Sept. 7 post on X (Twitter).

Saw some debates in the community. When you do the right thing, and there is FUD, you don't have to do anything. The community defends you.

Let me summarize. There have been a lot of negative news/rumors, bank runs, lawsuits, closing of fiat channels, product wind downs,…
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) September 7, 2023

He then used the opportunity to clarify Binance’s current financial position:

“Guess what we don't have? No liquidity issues,” CZ emphasized. “All withdrawals (and deposits) are properly handled. All customer funds are #SAFU, and 100% reserved.”

However, observers have noted at least 10 Binance executives have left the helm between July and September alone, including Patrick Hillmann, former chief strategy officer, Mayur Kamat, former product lead, Leon Foong, former head of Asia-Pacific and Steven Christie, former senior vice president for compliance.

CZ however explained in July that employee turnovers are a reality for every single company, especially those in a rapidly changing environment like crypto.

Definitely false, only one this week. They exaggerate everything.
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) July 6, 2023

In a recent post, CZ said Binance "probably also [has] the lowest founding team turnover of any tech startup of our size and age, in the world."

Meanwhile, the Binance CEO pointed to some wins in the cryptocurrency industry lately, such as the launch of new fiat channels and products, new hires, and new markets in addition to some wins in the courtroom — notably Ripple and Grayscale Investment’s victories against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

Magazine: Crypto regulation: Does SEC Chair Gary Gensler have the final say?

Dapper Labs makes 3rd round of cuts in 9 months amid NFT slump

July 13, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

NFT collectibles company Dapper Labs has said goodbye to another 51 employees only months after a 20% staff reduction in February.

Nonfungible token collection and technology firm Dapper Labs has announced its third round of staff layoffs in less than a year.

On July 13, Dapper Labs CEO Roham Gharegozlou announced that the firm has said goodbye to “51 brilliant colleagues and friends.”

In a note to employees, he said that the latest round of cuts includes full-time staff and C1 contractors.

“The decision was incredibly difficult because of the amazing people affected,” he said before adding that it was necessary and the right thing to do to “ensure a lean and efficient” company.

Gharegozlou however reiterated that the Dapper Labs and Flow remained “well capitalized” before adding:

“With this restructure we have made the business more lean, which is going to let us do the right thing for our fans and grow our communities in the most healthy ways possible.”

We said goodbye to 51 brilliant colleagues and friends today @dapperlabs – this is the note I sent our team.

We remain fully dedicated to our core communities and committed to building amazing products that push the world forward together.

If you're looking to hire some of the… pic.twitter.com/xwhjZAYLN8
— roham (@roham) July 13, 2023

The cut represents around 12% of the company’s staff according to total employee figures from Growjo.com.

It is the third staff cut by the company in less than a year following a 22% downsize in employees in November 2022 and a 20% cut in staff in February 2023.

Cointelegraph reached out to Dapper Labs for further comments but had not heard back at the time of publication.

Dapper Labs is known for developing well-known collectibles such as CryptoKitties and NBA Top Shot.

The move comes amid a broader slump in NFT markets and trading. In April Cointelegraph reported that NFT markets were “out of balance,” with sellers dominating.

Furthermore, many of the big blue chip collections have seen massive declines in floor prices in recent months.

Sports and NFT commentator "Clegainz" said it wasn't a "huge surprise considering the current state of Web3 and the macroeconomic environment." They added that Dapper Labs was not alone as many Web3 companies were in a similar state at the moment.

Excerpt from @clegainz comments on Dapper Labs' staff cuts. Source: Twitter

Magazine: From SNL and The Tonight Show to Sotheby’s: NFT creator Bryan Brinkman

Blockfi Announces Self-Liquidation Plan After Failed Attempts to Sell Company

May 16, 2023 Bitcoin.com

7,800 jobs at IBM could be replaced by AI within years, suggests CEO

May 2, 2023 Coin Telegraph

accounting

Arvind Krishna, the chief executive of IBM, said roughly 30% of their non-customer-facing positions could be covered by artificial intelligence over a five-year period.

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) is expecting to put a “pause” on hiring for "back-office" roles that could be potentially automated by artificial intelligence (AI) instead.

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna explained in a May 1 interview with Bloomberg that many “back-office” positions such as those in the human resources and accounting departments will likely be the first to be automated by AI.

The IBM boss added he could "easily" see 30% of these positions replaced by AI over a five-year period.

Dropbox: Laying off 500 people and replacing them with AI

IBM: Pausing hiring for ~7,800 roles that could be done by AI

AI is already replacing jobs
— Genevieve Roch-Decter, CFA (@GRDecter) May 1, 2023

IBM employs 282,000 employees globally according to LinkedIn and according to Bloomberg has around 26,000 non-customer-facing staff — meaning around 7,800 jobs could be handed over to AI.

“I could easily see 30% of that getting replaced by AI and automation over a five-year period.”

According to some reports, AI-based automation has already helped IBM save well over $1 billion in business expenses and maintenance costs.

Among the tasks that may be automated include providing employment verification letters or moving employees between departments.

However, Krishna thinks human resource roles that evaluate workforce composition, measure productivity and other tasks that benefit from human judgement likely won’t be replaced over the next decade.

For AI to work, it must be built responsibly. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna shares how organizations can prepare for the challenges and opportunities ahead in @FortuneMagazine: https://t.co/WYBu6VUCuc pic.twitter.com/gZtLwTNklb
— IBM (@IBM) April 24, 2023

Many industry pundits remain at crossroads on whether AI actually has the potential to leave humans without work on a mass scale.

A recent study found that 62% of Americans think implementing artificial intelligence in the workplace will have a “major impact” on workers within the next 20 years, leaving many employees “wary” and “worried” about what their future holds.

The more tech-savvy employees however feel slightly more secure about their future.

Blockchain developer Salman Arshad recently explained to Cointelegraph that instead of AI coming in to wipe out the developer market, it’ll only serve as a tool to increase efficiency.

“You know what your company wants to do. You can tell ChatGPT, and it can perfectly transform your commands into a smart contract, auditing process, document or white paper.”

“ChatGPT and AI tools are a blessing; they are not our enemies and are not here to end the career of a developer,” he added.

Another blockchain developer, Syed Ghazanfer, explained to Cointelegraph that the combination of human input and ChatGPT offers much more versatility than a complete transition to AI automation.

On the other hand, Dominik Schiener, the founder of the IOTA Foundation, believes that AI will take away employment opportunities from humans but at the same time, AI and robotic process will create new jobs: