In a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing on Tuesday, Robinhood said it would cut 10% of its full-time workforce of 2,900 and close a “small number” of open roles. The Menlo Park, California-based financial services platform is joining the ranks of companies that have flattened middle management roles to save costs and slim out bureaucracy.
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev sent an internal email to staff regarding the layoffs, which the company posted on X.
“I want to be transparent about why this is happening now,” Tenev said in the memo. “Robinhood’s business has never been stronger. But to achieve the massive scale of our mission, we cannot default to operating as a heavily layered organization.”
Tenev didn’t name AI as a factor for the layoffs (as many companies have in recent months), but he did say that Robinhood would use “frontier technologies to push our execution even further.” In the filing, the company stated it would incur $28 million in restructuring fees—$20 million in cash severance and benefits costs, and $8 million in share-based compensation charges.
“Because our financial position is strong, we are making this change proactively,” he added. “The goal is to maximize our talent density and ensure that our culture is defined by an absolute elite performance bar and a superlative commitment to our customers.”
Robinhood referred to its X post in response to Fast Company‘s request for comment.
In the last several weeks, Robinhood has discussed the company’s new artificial intelligence products—like AI agents that can trade and make credit card purchases—and its partnership on “Trump accounts,” a federal investment account for U.S. children. Tenev wrote that the company was prioritizing “being ‘Lean & Disciplined’ and demanding ‘High Performance.’”
Other companies have similarly “flattened” their organizational structure. Block CEO Jack Dorsey has been vocal about replacing middle management roles using AI, and said in April that he wants 6,000 direct reports. Meta, Google, and Amazon have also thinned out their management layers to cut costs and quicken decision-making.
Read Tenev’s full email to Robinhood staff below:
Robinhoodies,
We’ve made the difficult decision to say goodbye to some of our team members today. Those departing are being notified, and we’re offering them full support through this transition, including severance. These are good people who helped build the foundation we stand on today, and I am deeply grateful for their contributions to Robinhood.
I want to be transparent about why this is happening now. Robinhood’s business has never been stronger. But to achieve the massive scale of our mission, we cannot default to operating as a heavily layered organization. We must be a lean, hyper-focused team where every single individual is empowered to make a massive impact. Our execution is strong today, but our ambitions require us to continuously raise our own bar. To achieve that, today we are flattening our org structure and reducing our overall team size by 10% of head count.
Because our financial position is strong, we are making this change proactively. The goal is to maximize our talent density and ensure that our culture is defined by an absolute elite performance bar and a superlative commitment to our customers. This transition creates even more opportunities for our most talented people to grow and take on greater responsibility. We will also continue hiring strategically, investing heavily in top-tier talent, and utilizing frontier technologies to push our execution even further.
I know it can be painful to say goodbye to teammates. It is the hardest consequence of committing uncompromisingly to our values of being “Lean & Disciplined” and demanding “High Performance.”
