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Dapper Labs said to lay off 20% more of its full-time employees

Quick Take

  • Dapper Labs lays off another 20% of staff.
  • CEO says company is restructuring and has a “strong cash position.”
  • In November, Dapper laid off 22% of employees.

Less than four months after parting ways with more than 20% of its employees, Dapper Labs decided to let another 20% of full-time staff go, according to a document obtained by The Block.

In an email to investors on Wednesday, Dapper Labs’ CEO Roham Gharegozlou announced a “corporate restructure” and the layoffs. “As part of this restructure, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with team members representing 20% of full-time employees," he wrote.

Gharegozlou also said that the company is in a “strong cash position with no outstanding debt.”

The move to let more staff go comes as the NFT market has recently shown some signs of rebounding after a prolonged downturn. Dapper Labs, once celebrated as one of the elite NFT shops around thanks to its early success with NBA Top Shot, at one point achieved a valuation of $7.6 billion.

Dapper Labs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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November cuts

In November, Dapper Labs laid off 22% of its staff. Months before that formal layoff announcement, however, many employees had already been shown the door, and the climate at the company had become riddled with anxiety amid a wave of senior managers quickly exiting, according to several former employees.

On Wednesday, Drew Garrison, a community manager for Dapper Labs’ Flow blockchain, took to LinkedIn to announce his departure. “Well, after almost two years with Dapper Labs and surviving multiple restructures and layoffs, my time has finally come. Another 20% drop today,” he wrote.

Garrison did not immediately respond to requests for comment.


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About Author

RT Watson is a senior reporter at The Block who covers a wide array of topics including U.S.-based companies, blockchain gaming and NFTs. Formerly covered entertainment at The Wall Street Journal, where he wrote about Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. and the creator economy while focusing primarily on technological disruption across media. Previous to that he covered corporate, economic and political news in Brazil while at Bloomberg. RT has interviewed a diverse cast of characters including CEOs, media moguls, top influencers, politicians, blue-collar workers, drug traffickers and convicted criminals. Holds a master's degree in Digital Sociology.

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