Robinhood slashes nine per cent of workforce

US fintech giant Robinhood is planning to slash nine per cent of its workforce after a period of “hyper growth” tapered off.

The Silicon Valley startup announced last night that a major hiring spree in the past two years would be laying off a chunk of its 3,800 staff.

“This rapid headcount growth has led to some duplicate roles and job functions, and more layers and complexity than are optimal,” Chief Executive Officer Vlad Tenev said on Tuesday.

Robinhood’s employee numbers grew almost six times from 2020 through the first half of last year, from an original count of 700.

The firm floated in one of the most hotly anticipated IPOs in the US last year after an explosion in popularity through the pandemic, as retail traders flocked to the platform to put spare cash to work.

But shares in the firm have plunged over 80 per cent from an August 2021 peak and hit an all time low yesterday after the announcement.

Tenev said the firm would “continue to accelerate (its) product momentum” this year and introduce key new products across brokerage, crypto, and spending and saving. 

The news comes just one week after Robinhood reignited its push into the UK with the acquisition of UK firm Ziglu, an FCA authorised crypto trading platform.

Robinhood had originally planned to expand into the UK in 2020 but abandoned the plans amid the first wave of the pandemic.