Robinhood slashing workforce again — this time by 23%

Retail trading platform Robinhood Markets said Tuesday it is laying off about 23% of its employees, sending its shares down more than 3% in extended trading.

The company is also changing its organizational structure to “drive greater cost discipline,” Robinhood Chief Executive Officer Vlad Tenev said in a blog post.

Robinhood had already slashed 9% of its workforce in April, saying the company’s growth had led to some duplicate roles and job functions. Tenev said Tuesday that those cuts did not go far enough. 

“As CEO, I approved and took responsibility for our ambitious staffing trajectory – this is on me,” Tenev said.

Robinhood’s easy-to-use interface made it a hit among young investors trading from home on cryptocurrencies and stocks such as GameStop during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the company has posted declines in revenue as its customer base has been spooked by rising interest rates and decades-high inflation. 

Robinhood announced second-quarter results a day earlier than expected. It posted a 6% sequential increase in revenue to $318 million despite a market sell-off in equities and cryptocurrencies. But revenue was down 44% from a year earlier.

Robinhood announced last quarter that it was changing the way it provided revenue projections by providing “certain limited purpose statistical and operational results on a monthly basis.”