Nigerian crypto exchange, Quidax, has laid off 20 of its employees in response to difficult macro-economic conditions, the company has said.
The job cuts, which have trimmed the company’s workforce down 20%, come after it slashed employees’ salaries by 30% and team leads by 50% for three months since August 2022.
Quidax, which was launched in 2017 by CEO, Buchi Okoro, and CIO, Morris Ebieroma, has raised a total funding of $3.6 million, with its last funding of $3 million coming from the public sale of its token, $QDX.
In addition to the $QDX token sale in 2021, Quidax also achieved a milestone by becoming the first fully African-owned crypto exchange to be listed on CoinMarketCap.
“Our priority is making sure that even if things get worse globally and in the crypto market, we can weather the storm and still provide value to our customers. As a result, we’ve had to scale down a couple of things, including our workforce.” – CEO, Quidax
CEO Okoro said that the layoffs are part of the company taking hard decisions to position itself for the crypto winter.
“My number one priority right now is to focus on the team morale and keep business operations running as smoothly as possible. I am sure the tide will turn and we’ll be stronger and wise for it.”
Laid-off employees will be offered a severance package and support in their transition and could be re-hired if the economic situation resolves.
“If the tides turn, these are people we would be eager to re-hire. We can boast that they are more than capable of doing a great job anywhere,” the company said.
However, some in Nigeria have blamed the company for spending millions of dollars on marketing activities, including sponsorship deals and celebrity endorsements.
You hired Don Jazzy as a Brand Ambassador.
You sponsored BBNAIJA.
Now, e don happen.
Same mistake Kuda did.
Quidax is tearing apart.
Layoff tí bèrè 🤣🤣
You dont compare yourself to a $3 billion Flutterwave.
No go dey do pass your revenue and marketing budget.
— Kingsley Ndimele (@KingsNdimele) November 25, 2022
Quidax is just the latest Nigerian startup to lay off employees in recent months. In November 2022, Web3 startup, Nestcoin, had to let 30 employees go after its funds were stuck in the bankrupt crypto exchange, FTX.
In September 2022, digital bank, Kuda, also said it was laying off 23 employees.
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