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.

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

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

Binance, Coinbase and Gemini staff are among the least happy, data suggests

July 6, 2023 Coin Telegraph

amber group

Crypto exchange Binance said its “hardcore” work culture could explain some of the results, while recruiters warn the data should be taken with a grain of salt.

Crypto exchanges, including Gemini, Binance and Coinbase, are home to some of the least happy employees in the industry, according to data derived from Glassdoor — though some argue the results may be skewed.

A quadrant chart by tech recruitment firm TrueUp — understood to have collated data from job review platform Glassdoor — mapped out how crypto firms stack up regarding employee happiness vs. growth.

27 of the most valuable cryptocurrency firms were placed on TrueUp’s quadrant chart.

*A chart depicting the happiest, least happy workers and fastest and slowest growing cryptocurrency firms. Source: TrueUp*

The chart shows defunct crypto lender Celsius, crypto exchange Gemini and crypto trading firm Amber Group, with the least happy employees, according to data gleaned from 80, 139 and 42 reviews, respectively.

Binance and Coinbase also appear on the left side of the chart, with the respective Glassdoor listings showing a total of 1,257 reviews.

Glassdoor doesn’t have a happiness metric, but it does gauge whether the reviewer would recommend the company to a friend, whether they approve of the CEO they worked under, and whether the reviewer had a positive outlook for the company.

Binance attributes score to ‘hardcore’ values

Speaking to Cointelegraph, a Binance spokesperson explained that the firm seeks to hire candidates “who can thrive in a truly high-performance environment” in addition to being “obsessively focused on delivering for our users.”

They explained that not every Binance employee is cut out to be “hardcore” — one of the firm’s core values:

“It also means that sometimes, we have some who are not able to thrive in this unique, brutally fast environment, and we have to accept some negative reviews as a result.”

“Negative feedback enables us to address problems, and we’re on a constant journey to improve our employee experience,” the Binance spokesperson added.

*Glassdoor summary of Binance. Source: Glassdoor*

Cointelegraph also reached out to Coinbase, MoonPay, Bitpanda and 21Shares for comment but did not receive a response by publication. Gemini declined to comment.

Glassdoor concerns

Glassdoor reviews are user-submitted, self-reported information. In 2017, recruiters raised concerns over the legitimacy of Glassdoor data, suggesting that reviews can be easily faked or manipulated.

However, Glassdoor states that every review goes through a “moderation process” before it is approved for publication on its website.

Neil Dundon, the founder of Crypto Recruit, told Cointelegraph that while the Glassdoor data is “speculative,” it appears as though employees “building infrastructure” are more satisfied than those working at exchanges:

“The sadder employees may not be as fulfilled given they are working in a more speculative/exchange environment whereas the right side are actually building infrastructure for blockchain, so these employees may feel they have more purpose in their work.”

The large staff layoffs among top-tier firms have likely been factored into the figures, Dundon suggested.

“Across the industry in general, though, it’s hard to feel happy in your job when there is underlying insecurity among employees with all of the layoffs that have happened over the last year,” he said.

The silver lining, according to Dundon, is that “the worst” may be behind crypto employees now.

Meanwhile, the TrueUp chart suggests the “happiest” workers in the industry came from Ava Labs, the team behind the Avalanche blockchain; cryptocurrency exchange and wallet provider Blockchain.com; and Fireblocks, an institutional digital asset custodian.

Glassdoor data also shows that Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius, was one of the industry’s most disliked CEOs, with only 27% of past and present Celsius employees “approving” of him.

Brian Armstrong and Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the CEOs of Coinbase and Binance, respectively, have 69% and 65% approval ratings — lower than average for technology-based CEOs.

Magazine: Can you trust crypto exchanges after the collapse of FTX?

German newspaper giant denies reports of replacing editors with AI

June 21, 2023 Coin Telegraph

ai automation

Artificial intelligence will soon make its appearance in one of Europe’s best-selling tabloid newspapers, but only to support journalistic work, not replace it.

Disclaimer: This article has been updated to reflect a comment from a Bild Group spokesperson regarding the reason for the job cuts and where it sees AI's role in the company.

German tabloid company Bild has denied reports it is laying off parts of its editorial team and replacing staffers with artificial intelligence and “automated processes.”

The Guardian and other media outlets reported on June 21 that Bild’s parent publishing firm, Axel Springer SE, was planning to replace a range of editorial jobs with AI, citing an internal email.

*Screenshot of one of the headlines. Source: Sydney Morning Herald*

However, Bild Group’s director of communications, Christian Senft, told Cointelegraph that the “reports are false” and that “with our current measures, we have no intention of replacing journalism with AI."

Instead, Senft said the announcement was regarding a restructuring program for regional newspaper editions, which involves reducing from 18 regional editions to 12 by the end of the year, and the closing of 10 out of 15 regional offices, with many functions moving centrally to Berlin.

BILD-Gruppe formiert Managementteam für digitale Transformation https://t.co/FIeEu74KE8 pic.twitter.com/FFTMR3bRuE
— Axel Springer SE (@axelspringer) June 19, 2023

“Therefore, these tasks such as secretariats and photo production are no longer necessary in the regions,” he said, reiterating that the associated job reductions have nothing to do with AI.

Senft confirmed that the moves will affect employees in the “low three-digit number.” He also clarified that the announcement states that the company will “increasingly use AI to support journalistic work.”

“To this end, we are approaching the topic with an open mind and currently have many initiatives with which we are exploring areas of application for AI for our journalistic brands, both in the production processes of the editorial offices and in relation to the reader experience,” he added.

“The use of AI creates more time and space for journalistic creativity for editors and reporters. Wherever AI supports, a journalist always has to check and double-check the result at Axel Springer.”

The daily tabloid was founded in June 1952. In the 1980s, Bild reportedly sold more than five million copies per day. By 2010, Bild’s circulation had fallen to 3.55 million, according to Mondo Times. As of 2022, the print newspaper only had a circulation of just over 1 million, according to Media Impact.

The rapid development of AI has nevertheless sparked concerns over job losses in the future.

In May, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna told Bloomberg that 7,800 jobs at the firm could be replaced by AI and automation over the next five years, representing approximately 30% of its workforce.

IBM expects to pause hiring for roles as roughly 7,800 jobs could be replaced by #AI.

Back-office functions such as human resources will be suspended or slowed.

30% of non-customer-facing roles could be replaced by AI and automations in 5 years.

Universities, Schools, HR… pic.twitter.com/OkyHMwhqQD
— Brian Solis (@briansolis) May 2, 2023

In a June 14 report, management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. predicted that generative AI may be able to fully automate as much as 50% of all work activity conducted in workplaces today, including tasks related to decision-making, management, and interfacing with stakeholders.

AI Eye: Is AI a nuke-level threat? Why AI fields all advance at once, dumb pic puns

Update (June 21, 6:39 am UTC): This article has been updated to include information given by a Bild Group spokesperson.

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:

“We’ll see more and more humans being forced to pivot to new roles that may look nothing like anything they’ve ever done.”

Magazine: NFT Creator, Emily Xie: Creating ‘organic’ generative art from robotic algorithms

SEC’s Gensler seeks $2.4B in funding to chase down crypto ‘misconduct’

March 30, 2023 Coin Telegraph

<div>SEC's Gensler seeks .4B in funding to chase down crypto 'misconduct'</div>

Budget

SEC Chair Gary Gensler says the regulator is spread thin and needs additional funding to keep up with the “increased complexity in the capital markets.”

United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Gary Gensler has thrown his support behind President Biden’s request to allocate a record $2.4 billion in funding for the regulator, highlighting the ongoing need to crack down on “misconduct” in the cryptocurrency industry.

In prepared testimony for the March 29 budget hearing with the House Appropriations Committee, Gensler said the additional funding was needed to keep up the pace of innovation, adding:

“Rapid technological innovation in the financial markets has led to misconduct in emerging and new areas, not least in the crypto space. Addressing this requires new tools, expertise, and resources.”

The additional funding would allow the SEC to hire 170 additional staff, most of whom would work within its enforcement and examination divisions, said Gensler.

The SEC chair noted that the prior year's budget increase allowed it to bring staffing levels above what it was in 2016 for the first time, but said the regulatory agency was still stretched thin, adding:

“As the cop on the beat, we must be able to meet the match of bad actors. Thus, it makes sense for the SEC to grow along with the expansion and increased complexity in the capital markets.”

Gensler again described crypto as the wild west, suggesting the nascent industry is “rife with noncompliance,” and that crypto investors were putting their “hard-earned assets at risk in a highly speculative asset class.”

According to Gensler, the regulator “received more than 35,000 separate tips, complaints, and referrals from whistleblowers and others in FY 2022,” which helped it bring more than 750 enforcement actions and “resulted in orders for $6.4 billion in penalties and disgorgement.”

30 of these actions were related to the crypto industry, which resulted in $242 million in monetary penalties and represents a 36% increase over the 22 actions announced in 2021.

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Goldman Sachs still open to crypto hires amid massive 3,200 staff cut

March 1, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Goldman Sachs digital asset lead Mathew McDermott said the bank remains “hugely positive” on exploring blockchain applications.

Goldman Sachs’ digital assets unit is reportedly open to bolstering its 70-strong team, despite a massive cost-cutting exercise at the firm last month that will see 3,200 employees clear their desks.

Mathew McDermott, global head of digital assets for Goldman Sachs, said the bank remains “hugely supportive” of exploring blockchain applications and that the digital asset division will hire “as appropriate” this year.

The executive made the comments in Hong Kong to Bloomberg last week, noting that the digital assets team has grown from just four staff members in 2020 to around 70 today.

The firm’s supposed openness to beef up its crypto team comes despite the firm cutting up to 3,200 jobs last month, its largest round of layoffs since the global financial crisis of 2008-2009.

The cuts have reportedly impacted senior, middle and junior-level executives and concentrated on its core trading and banking units, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

In a presentation during Goldman Sachs' 2023 Investor Day in New York, CFO Denis Coleman reportedly said part of the payroll cuts will also involve holding off on replacing departing employees this year, so it can instead focus on “prioritizing strategic hires.”

#GoldmanSachs now smaller than #MorganStanley by almost $40B

CEO David Solomon being blamed for underperformance & wrong strategy

Holding 2nd ever Investor day

Targeting returns in mid-teens
May spin off or sell #consumer biz
Remember $GS IPO'd at 4XBook now worth 4 times LESS pic.twitter.com/v9pQ70aOFw
— Susan Li (@SusanLiTV) February 28, 2023

In December, McDermott said the firm was seeing opportunities to buy crypto companies that are “priced more sensibly” after the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, adding that they are already doing its due diligence on some crypto firms.

He noted that while FTX was a “poster child” of the space, ultimately, the underlying tech behind the industry “continues to perform.”

Crypto firms cut nearly 3,000 jobs in January despite Bitcoin’s rise

January 31, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bear Market

It was a tough month for crypto employees with at least 14 firms announcing staff reductions in January.

Crypto companies tightened their purse strings in the first month of 2023, with at least 2,900 crypto staff cut loose across 14 crypto firms in January.

The latest firm to reportedly initiate a layoff is the crypto infrastructure provider Prime Trust which reduced its employee count by a third according to reports.

The reduction would equate to an estimated 100 or so staff cut as Prime had 312 employees on LinkedIn at the time of writing.

Other recent cuts over the last few days include 30 staff from the crypto platform Matrixport being let go according to a Jan. 27 Bloomberg report, while an earlier Jan. 23 report from The Information said roughly 100 staff were laid off from the crypto exchange Gemini.

The largest staff layoff for the month of January was initiated by crypto exchange Coinbase which reduced its headcount by around 950 employees on Jan. 10.

Its peer exchanges Crypto.com, Luno and Huobi trailed with reductions of around 500, 330 and 320 employees respectively.

Embattled crypto conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG) and its subsidiaries similarly saw significant layoffs with 485 workers sacked in January alone as the firm navigates a financial crisis.

The DCG-owned Luno saw the most layoffs, while DCG itself slashed 66 employees, its subsidiary lending platform Genesis cut 63 jobs and its asset management firm HQ Digital shuttered affecting 26 jobs.

Rounding off the list were the 200 members of staff let go by crypto bank Silvergate, the 110 employees cut from the Blockchain.com exchange and the 96 staff terminated from MetaMask’s parent company ConsenSys.

Meanwhile, 20 staff members were let go from the nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace SuperRare.

These staff cuts came despite Bitcoin (BTC) performing strongly in the month, targeting nearly $25,000 as institutional demand has continued to increase.

However, the large-scale crypto industry layoffs were not in isolation. Around 48,000 people in January alone were let go from just four companies: Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Salesforce.

While some may believe there's more gloom ahead, crypto hedge fund Pantera Capital believes there’s never been a better time to start a blockchain company claiming bear markets provide “less noise and distraction from building.”

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January 30, 2023 Bitcoin.com

staff

Binance attributes score to ‘hardcore’ values

Glassdoor concerns

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