Magic Eden Undergoing Restructuring Process, Lays Off 22 Employees
TL;DR Magic Eden, an NFT marketplace, has announced a series of layoffs as they transition their focus away from Solana and towards cross-chain integration. Each affected employee will receive a severance package, including two months’ salary and six months’ healthcare. Additionally, other employers in the NFT space have offered prospective job opportunities to those recently laid off.
Following a spree of layoffs across the crypto industry in 2022 – a microcosm of the tech industry at large, which also saw plenty of reductions last year – Magic Eden becomes the latest company to cut its headcount.
Restructuring Partly Due to Solana Evolution
Magic Eden, an NFT marketplace that up until recently targeted its approach to the NFT market focusing on Solana, has suffered from SOL’s drop in value and the apparition of alternative blockchains for other competitive projects.
As a result, Magic Eden looks to invest in cross-chain integration. According to the letter from the CEO where the layoffs were announced, the project will also be looking into new tools for NFT creators, as well as “social experiences” and reward systems.
“Since then, our business has grown significantly and the nature of our challenges has evolved. Our focus areas for 2023 include growing traction across chains, developing services for NFT creators, and exploring new use cases like rewards and social experiences. As we established these priorities for the year, we had to take a hard look at what structure and roles are needed.” – reads the statement.
Continued Support for Those Laid Off
Despite the unfortunate circumstances, Jack Lu – the CEO and co-founder of Magic Eden, stressed that the layoffs are in no way due to a lack of talent but simply due to a change in priorities for 2023.
🧵 Today is a sad day at Magic Eden. As part of a company-wide restructuring, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with 22 teammates. Nothing about this decision takes away from the talent, hardwork and dedication of this incredible group of people. pic.twitter.com/2LAGfK9dMV — Jack Lu (@0xLeoInRio) February 14, 2023
As a result, each of the affected employees will receive a severance package to aid them while they search for new employment. This severance package consists of two months’ salary, six months’ healthcare, and a year’s subscription to Headspace, a company in the healthcare industry focusing on mental well-being.
Additionally, each of the laid-off employees will be allowed to keep their company-provided laptop and will receive support in their search for a future job, including coaching, recommendation letters, and so on.
In a welcome surprise, the director of Aptos Labs extended prospective job offers to recently laid-off Magic Eden employees.
If any of them are looking for roles Aptos is actively hiring talented folks across all positions. I’m specifically looking for rockstar ecosystem and NFT people. — Austin 💚 (@austinvirts) February 14, 2023