Dapper Labs makes 3rd round of cuts in 9 months amid NFT slump

Nonfungible token (NFT) creator and technology firm Dapper Labs has announced its third round of staff layoffs in less than a year.

On July 13, Dapper Labs CEO Roham Gharegozlou announced that the firm has said goodbye to “51 brilliant colleagues and friends.”

In a note to employees, he said that the latest round of cuts includes full-time staff and C1 contractors.

“The decision was incredibly difficult because of the amazing people affected,” he said before adding that it was necessary and the right thing to do to “ensure a lean and efficient” company.

Gharegozlou, however, reiterated that the Dapper Labs and Flow remained “well capitalized” before adding:

“With this restructure we have made the business more lean, which is going to let us do the right thing for our fans and grow our communities in the most healthy ways possible.”

We said goodbye to 51 brilliant colleagues and friends today @dapperlabs – this is the note I sent our team.

We remain fully dedicated to our core communities and committed to building amazing products that push the world forward together.

If you’re looking to hire some of the… pic.twitter.com/xwhjZAYLN8

— roham (@roham) July 13, 2023

The cut represents around 12% of the company’s staff, according to total employee figures from Growjo.com.

It is the third staff cut by the company in less than a year, following a 22% downsizing in employees in November 2022 and a 20% cut in staff in February 2023.

Cointelegraph reached out to Dapper Labs for further comments but did not receive a response by publication.

Related: Dapper Lab’s NBA Top Shot Moments may qualify as a security, says US judge

Dapper Labs is known for developing NFT collectibles such as CryptoKitties and NBA Top Shot.

The move comes amid a broader slump in NFT markets and trading. In April, Cointelegraph reported that NFT markets were “out of balance,” with sellers dominating.

Furthermore, many of the big blue chip collections have seen massive declines in floor prices in recent months.

Sports and NFT commentator Clegainz said it wasn’t a “huge surprise considering the current state of Web3 and the macroeconomic environment.“ They added that Dapper Labs was not alone, as many Web3 companies were in a similar state at the moment. 

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