Coinbase reduces work force by ~14%

[Z-tight]

I hope someday that we'll see these companies regretting these actions and will come back to huma work force.

Lol, you sound like they are replacing 100% of their workforce, which they obviously are not doing. Humans are still the ones working for Coinbase, lol. They are just cutting down on the number they have at the moment and probably hiring additional workforce that are skilled with ai. We are also talking of a large corporation here, a lot of research is done before they take any decision, so they have made long term projections and the result is that this is the best decision for them.

[batang_bitcoin]

I hope someday that we'll see these companies regretting these actions and will come back to human work force.

Lol, you sound like they are replacing 100% of their workforce, which they obviously are not doing. Humans are still the ones working for Coinbase, lol. They are just cutting down on the number they have at the moment and probably hiring additional workforce that are skilled with ai. We are also talking of a large corporation here, a lot of research is done before they take any decision, so they have made long term projections and the result is that this is the best decision for them.

14% isn't a joke number and this might be a start of it. When other tasks become automated, it might be followed by a series of lay offs too. I'm speaking not only for coinbase but for the entirety of these companies who have replaced a lot of work. I knew people who had been laid off from the other companies and you're right, that's their best decision. It might not be 100% replacing it and there's still human working for them. But I think you have the idea of how these laid offs are happening massively. Because I think there's one company who did this AI adoption and yet turned back to human employees when their customers didn't like the respond of AI and all they got were complains.

[UmerIdrees]

Before and after AI, laying off employees and hiring more is a feature of all businesses, and there will be opportunities available to everyone (although they will require more skills). Therefore, I do not consider this news surprising or indicative of a real or profound transformation. In fact, the percentage is much lower than in many companies.

Almost every company is thinking in these terms, and some of them are just using an excuse of AI to fire the employees (while AI doesn't have any role in some companies yet).
As a matter of fact, no company can run solely on AI, they need humans to operate the AI and therefore for employees like us, we need to upgrade our skills in AI, and then we may become even more useful than before. While AI can be a threat to employment, it can also be an opportunity if one is fully upskilled in AI.

[coin-investor]

It's expected from a company where AI can be included in the system; they are a profit-driven company that always thinks of the competition. I hope these workers are compensated properly so they can at least sustain their livelihoods until they find another job or start their own business.
If a worker is in an industry where there is a threat of AI takeover, he should weigh his options on what to do in case it happens.

[Zwei]

Almost every company is thinking in these terms, and some of them are just using an excuse of AI to fire the employees (while AI doesn't have any role in some companies yet).
As a matter of fact, no company can run solely on AI, they need humans to operate the AI and therefore for employees like us, we need to upgrade our skills in AI, and then we may become even more useful than before. While AI can be a threat to employment, it can also be an opportunity if one is fully upskilled in AI.

the thing is, for those who don't get fired, the work the other employees been doing will just gets dumped on them, and they are expected (or should i say demanded) to use AI to keep things going.
AI was being sold as something that would help people be more productive to save time so you have more free time, etc... but those where just lies.

not to mention, once those companies run out of money which they are burning thru like crazy, AI is going to get really expensive for those companies (but maybe china will save them with their low cost open source models).

[UmerIdrees]

the thing is, for those who don't get fired, the work the other employees been doing will just gets dumped on them, and they are expected (or should i say demanded) to use AI to keep things going.
AI was being sold as something that would help people be more productive to save time so you have more free time, etc... but those where just lies.

not to mention, once those companies run out of money which they are burning thru like crazy, AI is going to get really expensive for those companies (but maybe china will save them with their low cost open source models).

That's true, it becomes a tough life for those who survive the layoffs in the companies, as now they have to work extra, as the companies will not hire more workers once they fire some in the name of AI or cost-cutting. In the end, it is the employee who suffers regardless of whether he is being fired or still on the job.

And as far as the Chinese source models are concerned, they aren't able to capture a big market share yet. If we remember, when DeepSeek came out, there was hype that it was cheap and free, but later on, it wasn't able to reach the popularity of ChatGPT or Claude.

[SamReomo]

Or are they just looking for a gentle way to kick some of their staff out because the reality is that AI has made them completely irrelevant?

The AI has improved a lot in past few years that now it can do many of the tasks that in past were done by teams. Since, each new model or model update brings improvement to many scores of AI thus now many companies find human employees as burden and that's why they're firing their employees.

This is time for those who're good at AI because it's the new tech and learning it is important for everyone if they want to survive. I believe AI hasn't reduced opportunists but it has increased opportunists for many of those who previously lack skills.

By using AI and doing prompting in the right way, skill less people can also make some money.  Companies can now use AI agents to automate many tasks and that's another reason why they're removing their current human employees.

[WillyAp]

IBM reconsidered and reemployed many if not all.

IBM just reversed its own AI workforce thesis in under three years. The $240 billion tech giant announced this week it will triple U.S. entry-level hiring in 2026 across software development, HR, and other roles widely assumed to be AI-replaceable. This from the same company whose CEO told Bloomberg in May 2023 that AI would replace roughly 7,800 back-office jobs.

The pivot isn't a retreat from AI—it's a strategic recalibration. As companies move from AI experimentation to implementation, many are discovering that eliminating junior talent creates more problems than it solves.

"The companies three to five years from now that are going to be the most successful are those companies that doubled down on entry-level hiring in this environment," IBM CHRO Nickle LaMoreaux said at Charter's Leading With AI Summit. "And yes, it's for all these jobs that we're being told AI can do."

source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/joetoscano1/2026/02/18/corporate-america-is-rethinking-ai-workforce-needs-led-by-ibm/

[noorman0]

IBM reconsidered and reemployed many if not all.

-snip-
source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/joetoscano1/2026/02/18/corporate-america-is-rethinking-ai-workforce-needs-led-by-ibm/

This is similar to the recent move by an automotive company (if I recall correctly) to consider bringing back some test engineers. If AI is still experimental, why are they so hasty in firing key employees, especially those who have been working manually? I imagine that competitors or anyone else could infiltrate the AI ​​system and disrupt its training models, which would influence the final outcome of their products/sevices.

[WillyAp]

If AI is still experimental, why are they so hasty in firing key employees, especially those who have been working manually? I imagine that competitors or anyone else could infiltrate the AI ​​system and disrupt its training models, which would influence the final outcome of their products/sevices.

Here you can see why we are in that kind of situation.
A few managers go nuts and the company lays off 3000 people.

[Synchronice]

Everyone should focus on themselves when they work in any corporate company. Companies often tell their employees that they are a big family and other blatant lies but now look at this message. Coinbase says that we had to reduce workforce by 14% for our own growth. What kind of family ostracizes its member for its own benefit? None, so, companies are not your families, they'll use you as long as you are profitable and beneficial for them.

That's why I suggest everyone, focus on yourself when you work in a corporate company and don't try hard to benefit the company. You should be getting more benefit than the company, that should be your aim. Get more knowledge, get more connections, get more benefits and then do your own business.

Am i the only one who worry that Coinbase non-technical team use AI for production? Non-technical imply they less likely to know the AI make mistake.

You are not the only one, I also had this question, why do they allow non-technical team to use AI for technical production? Doesn't make sense, especially if we keep in mind how many mistakes AI can make. Another interesting question is, which AI do they use and which model. Claude Fable? ChatGPT 5.6 Intelligence? Or their own?

[tabas]

In the tech setting, it's expected that there will be more lay offs to come. I think that the dynamic is there with this adoption of AI for these businesses and they're still testing the waters. It won't be surprising if the time comes that they'll need human resource and manpower to do the job. In some cases, the adoption of AI didn't do well for some of the companies and we'd see if this is going to be well for Coinbase. Will it be cost effective or this experimental shift of theirs are going to be worth it or not, we'll see maybe a couple of months from now on.