CoinSwitch, CoinDCX exchanges cut staff amid market slump

India-based digital currency exchange CoinSwitch has announced its reducing employee headcount by 8% as it explores a range of options to remain afloat.

The latest job cuts impacted staff from its customer support teams, which the exchange says results from redundancy in support roles. A total of 44 individuals were adversely affected by the layoff, with CoinSwitch claiming that the employees voluntarily resigned after discussions with its management.

“We continuously evaluate our business to stay competitive, prioritizing innovation, value, and service for our customers,” said a CoinSwitch spokesperson. “To that end, we right-sized our customer support team to align with the present volume of customer queries on our platform.”

With the broader digital currency market facing the perils of an extended bear market, CoinSwitch has faced its fair share of challenges. The exchange’s trading volumes have taken a major hit by over 70%, while the number of active users on the platform has declined.

Coinswitch has also grappled with India’s tough 30% tax requirement and an additional 1% tax deductible at source (TDS).

The exchange said the number of customer queries has significantly plummeted since the start of the year. It noted that before deciding to part ways with its employees, it first explored several options, including absorbing customer support staff into other roles in the exchange.

Affected employees received a four-month severance pay with the exchange noting that when trading volumes rise again, it will be “happy to welcome back those impacted.”

Despite the company’s claim that only employees in support roles were affected by the job cuts, insiders with knowledge of the matter claim that terminations cut across several teams. The affected staff claim that despite the payment of severance pay, the company failed to give them proper notice for the terminations.

“My access was suddenly taken away without prior notice,” said one affected individual seeking anonymity. “Several positions were impacted including team leads, agents, support staff, senior managers and quality analysts too.”

Seeking to diversify operations

CoinSwitch has revealed plans to diversify its operations by rolling out new offerings outside of digital currencies. CEO Ashish Singhal said the company is currently negotiating with regulators ahead of releasing seven mainstream financial products in Q4 of 2023.

The company has its sights on launching stock offerings, bonds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), fixed deposits, and mutual funds for its users.

Coinswitch is not the only Indian exchange to have been adversely affected by unfavorable macroeconomic conditions, with CoinDCX reducing staff strength by 12%. CoinDCX wrote in a statement that to stay afloat amid dwindling volumes and reserves. It will turn to job cuts and automation to “drive efficiency and productivity.”

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