Luno wields job axe on 35% of staff

South African crypto change Luno is retrenching 35% of its world workforce, with CEO Marcus Swanepoel citing dwindling progress and income numbers as the primary motive for the cuts.

“2022 has been an incredibly tough year for the broader tech industry, and in particular the crypto market…as a result, we have to readjust our focus to maintaining our leadership position in our core markets, and continue to lay a strong yet sustainable foundation for the business as we prepare to come out of this current cycle in a very strong position,” Swanepoel mentioned.

Swanepoel additionally made assurances that buyer funds had been secure regardless of the corporate’s troubles, stating that “…I believe it’s also important to reiterate to everyone that customer funds are safe and operations continue as normal despite these very challenging circumstances.”

According to CNBC, the layoffs will have an effect on advertising and marketing staff. The cuts may have “minimal or no impact on key operating and compliance teams,” in response to Luno. The firm may also be scaling again its U.S. and Australia operations.

Founded in South Africa in 2013, Luno was acquired by the now troubled Digital Currency Group (DCG) crypto conglomerate in 2020, in a deal which was meant to speed up the change’s world footprint. Luno at the moment boasts 10 million clients in 40 markets.

Swanepoel additional added that though the corporate “anticipated a downturn and proactively planned ahead with a business and funding model that can be resilient to some of these factors”, the tempo at which these elements have occurred have rendered Luno unable to manage.

“What this means in practice is that in addition to streamlining our strategy to focus on our core strengths, we need to also substantially decrease our cost base – which includes employee headcount in all of our markets – in order for us to be set up for success going forward,” he added.

With a complete headcount of 960 throughout a number of operations in Africa, southeast Asia, and Europe, Luno’s cuts will have an effect on about 330 staff. Luno cofounder and CTO Timothy Stranex additionally resigned in December after a decade with the corporate.