Robinhood, the app that popularized loose one-click buying and selling of shares and choices, stated on Tuesday that it was once shedding roughly 340 other people, or about 9 p.c of its 3,800 staff.
Vlad Tenev, Robinhood’s leader govt, stated in a weblog put up that the corporate had necessarily overhired within the pandemic. Since 2020, the corporate’s paintings pressure has grown nearly six instances, to a few,800 other people from 700, main to replicate roles and process purposes and “extra layers and complexity than are optimum,” he stated.
Mr. Tenev added that “after sparsely taking into account these kinds of elements, we made up our minds that making those discounts to Robinhood’s group of workers is the appropriate resolution to enhance potency, build up our pace, and be sure that we’re conscious of the converting wishes of our shoppers.”
He stated the corporate was once sturdy financially, with $6 billion in money.
Robinhood didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The Silicon Valley corporate has lengthy attracted scrutiny for its commission-free one-click buying and selling, particularly of riskier belongings comparable to choices. It grew temporarily and disrupted competitors, together with E-Industry and different agents, with its ease of use and loss of charges, however critics puzzled whether or not it stoked bad conduct, particularly amongst younger and unsophisticated particular person buyers.
In early 2021, Robinhood was once stuck up within the “meme” inventory frenzy, when teams of particular person buyers banded in combination to pressure up the costs of a few out-of-favor shares, together with GameStop. Many used Robinhood to make their trades.
Robinhood needed to halt some trades and lift rounds of emergency investment to hide the collateral wanted for its shoppers’ trades. Mr. Tenev’s cell phone was once seized by means of the government as a part of an investigation into the location. Robinhood was once sued greater than 50 instances, and Mr. Tenev was once summoned to testify in Congress.
The corporate went public in July 2021. It misplaced $3.69 billion ultimate 12 months, despite the fact that income higher 89 p.c to $1.82 billion.
