In a recent development, Polygon Labs announced a workforce reduction, eliminating 60 roles, accounting for approximately 19% of its staff. The decision was communicated by Marc Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs, in an update shared with the Polygon Labs team. 

Strategic Changes? 

According to the statement released Thursday, the company has changed to “accelerate its progress, remove obstacles, strategically align teams, and maintain a strong focus on its mission within the web3 ecosystem.”

To achieve its goals “efficiently and effectively,” Polygon Labs said it recognized the need for a smaller, more agile team that could collaborate closely, accelerate projects, and perform at its “highest potential.”

According to Marc Boiron, the decision to reduce the workforce was driven by the desire to regain qualities such as “extreme” focus, diligence, efficiency, and agility that had been diluted during the team’s growth in the previous bull market.

Moreover, Boiron emphasized that the decision to downsize the team was made to “enhance performance” rather than for financial reasons, and the leadership emphasized the importance of thoughtful progress to maximize the chances of successful execution. Boiron stated on the matter:

The reality is that achieving our mission often demands challenging decisions, and while difficult, the Founders and I agree that we must move forward in a thoughtful way that gives us the greatest chance to execute successfully.

Additionally, the company’s CEO stated that they have notified the affected team members and will speak to them personally to explain the decision, address any questions, and express gratitude for their contributions. 

Polygon Ventures Spins Off From Polygon Labs

In other developments, Polygon Ventures, a 10-person team formerly part of Polygon Labs, has already been spun off and rebranded as P2 Ventures. According to Boiron, They continue to invest in early-stage web3 projects, focusing on the protocol’s ecosystem.

The 33-person ID team is also set to spin off in the coming months, aligning with the “strategic decision” to ensure the success of Polygon ID’s work in enabling users to prove their identity securely without exposing private information.

Looking ahead, Boiron stated that the firm remains committed to its strategy of interconnected zero knowledge-based networks and contracts, which have already gained traction with the widespread adoption of Polygon CDK. Marc Boiron concluded:

With the wonderful team that we have at Polygon Labs and all the incredible builders in the Polygon ecosystem, I am confident we will achieve our mission. Just ignore the noise and execute on our strategy. The rest will fall into place.

The native token of the protocol, MATIC, is currently trading at $0.7930, reflecting a 1.5% decrease in the past 24 hours and a year-to-date decline of over 26%.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com