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Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong is pushing for a large-scale restructuring to prepare for the era of artificial intelligence, with a decision to cut about 14% of the workforce—equivalent to nearly 700 people based on the company’s latest employee count. This move comes as the crypto market has not fully recovered, but according to Armstrong, the more important factor is changing the operating model to bring Coinbase back to a high-speed “startup” spirit, with AI at the center.
In his latest sharing, Armstrong emphasized that the layoffs are not just to save costs but are a strategic step to rebuild the entire organizational structure. Coinbase is eliminating the middle management layer he calls “pure managers”—those who only manage without directly creating product value—and replacing it with a “player-coach” model. This is a leadership style where leaders both manage teams and directly participate in product development, write code, or contribute expertise. According to Armstrong, a flat management model will help reduce “coordination tax,” speed up decision-making, and bring products to market faster.
Another notable change is the formation of “AI-native pods”—work groups designed from the outset around AI. Coinbase even envisions a future where “one-person teams” may emerge, where an individual coordinates AI agents to perform the work of engineers, designers, and product managers. Armstrong describes the long-term goal as rebuilding Coinbase as an “intelligent system,” where humans play the role of direction and supervision.
After the cuts, Coinbase’s leadership structure will be streamlined to a maximum of just five layers below the CEO position. According to Armstrong, reducing the number of management layers is key to increasing efficiency, as the more layers there are, the slower the speed and the greater the coordination costs.
In fact, Coinbase has been pursuing an AI strategy for many years. Armstrong once licensed GitHub Copilot and Cursor for the entire engineering team and required them to deploy it within a week. Those who did not meet the deadline had to leave the company. Armstrong said that over the past year, he has witnessed a strong increase in engineer productivity as AI helps complete work in just a few days instead of many weeks. Not only the technical team, but many non-technical employees have also started writing code thanks to AI, and many internal processes have been automated.
The wave of restructuring due to AI is not only happening at Coinbase. Large tech companies like Block and Snap Inc. have also cut thousands of employees for similar reasons. However, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has warned about the phenomenon of “AI washing”—when some businesses use AI as a reason to justify layoffs that have other underlying causes.
Nevertheless, experts believe that the trend of AI-related layoffs is still mainly concentrated in the tech industry, while the overall labor market remains stable. This indicates that the tech industry is entering a deep transition phase to an AI-based operating model, where speed, automation, and efficiency are prioritized.
