Robinhood Markets announced sweeping layoffs Tuesday affecting approximately 10% of its full-time employees, or about 290 workers, as the company moves to streamline its organization.
According to a regulatory filing signed by CFO Shiv Verma, the workforce reduction is aimed at goals the company described as "maintain a high performance culture, further accelerate product velocity, and remain lean and disciplined." Severance and benefits will drive approximately $20 million in cash restructuring charges, the company said, with an additional $8 million attributable to share-based compensation — both to be booked in the second quarter of 2026. The company also said it would close a small number of open roles.
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev addressed employees in a memo shared on X $TWTR, declaring the company has "never been stronger" and describing the layoffs as a means of raising the bar on talent density and cementing what he called "an absolute elite performance bar" for the culture. "To achieve the massive scale of our mission, we cannot default to operating as a heavily-layered organization," Tenev said. "We must be a lean, hyper-focused team where every single individual is empowered to make a massive impact."
Robinhood said the action comes from a position of business strength, with June month-to-date average daily trading volumes at record levels across equities, options, and prediction markets. The company currently employs about 2,900 full-time workers, according to MarketWatch.
Robinhood stock rose more than 2% on Tuesday.
The layoffs arrive as the broader technology and fintech sectors have seen a wave of job cuts. Tech-sector employers announced 123,653 job cuts through the first five months of 2026, a 66% increase over the same period in 2025, with artificial intelligence cited as the leading reason for eliminations across all industries for three consecutive months. Fintech companies reported 5,731 cuts in May alone.
About a month ago, Yahoo Finance reported that Coinbase Global moved to shed roughly 700 positions — equivalent to 14% of its headcount — with CEO Brian Armstrong pointing to crypto market headwinds and the demands of the AI era as driving factors.
Data from the first-quarter earnings report illustrated the tension behind the move: staff levels climbed 22% year-over-year, while annualized revenue per employee slid 8% to $1.4 million compared with the same quarter a year earlier.