Robinhood is reducing its workforce by about 10% as the online brokerage seeks to flatten its organizational structure, despite reporting strong profits and record customer assets earlier this year.
Robinhood Cuts 10% of Workforce, Joining Wave of Layoffs at Crypto Exchanges
16 June 2026 - 18:34 CEST
By Ana Pereira
According to a memo on 16 Jun from chief executive Vlad Tenev to employees shared on X, the company is reducing headcount to create a "lean, hyper-focused team" and increase what he described as "talent density" across the organization. Robinhood had about 2,900 employees at the end of 2025, according to regulatory filings, implying a reduction of about 290 workers.
The cuts come less than two months after Robinhood reported first-quarter net income of $346mn on revenue of $1.07bn, while total platform assets climbed 39% year-over-year to $307bn. Crypto trading activity, however, remained below year-earlier levels.
The cuts follow similar moves by crypto exchanges this year. Coinbase said in May it would cut 14% of staff as it reorganized around artificial intelligence, while Gemini reduced its workforce by 25% as part of a retrenchment to its US business. Kraken also reportedly eliminated about 150 roles amid an AI-driven efficiency push.
Robinhood shares fell 1.9% to about $96 at 13:32 UTC on 16 Jun, down roughly 14% year-to-date, according to Yahoo Finance.
First layoffs since 2023
The restructuring marks Robinhood's first major workforce reduction in three years. The company last cut about 150 employees, or roughly 7% of its workforce, in June 2023 as trading activity slowed following the pandemic-era retail investing boom. Earlier, Robinhood reduced headcount by 9% in April 2022 and a further 23% in August 2022.
While the company did not specify which divisions would be affected by the latest cuts, cryptocurrency trading remains one of its weaker business lines, with first-quarter crypto revenue falling 47% year-over-year to $134mn and crypto trading volumes on the Robinhood app declining 48% to $24bn.
Robinhood said it expects to record about $20mn in severance and benefits charges, and approximately $8mn in share-based compensation expenses, Reuters reported. The company plans to close the small number of remaining open positions as part of the restructuring, Reuters said.
Continuation of a trend
US employers announced more than 97,000 job cuts in May, marking the third consecutive monthly increase and the highest May total since 2020, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Nearly 40% of the announced layoffs were attributed to AI-related efficiency initiatives. The US unemployment rate held at 4.3% in May while employers added 172,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
