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Sixty Coinbase employees have accepted a buyout offer after CEO Brian Armstrong announced a controversial new policy curbing political activism within the company. Armstrong revealed the figure in an email to employees Thursday.
Armstrong announced the new policy last week after the summer when many tech companies faced pressure from their employees to clarify issues of social justice.
Armstrong wrote in a Sept. 27 blog post, “While I think these efforts are well-intentioned, they have the potential to destroy a lot of value, by drawing the attention of most companies and by internal divisions,” Armstrong wrote in a Sept. 27 blog post. . “We’ve seen what internal conflict in companies like Google and Facebook can do for productivity. I believe most employees don’t want to work in this divisive environment.”
The post has sparked a backlash among liberals on Twitter, but Armstrong is not backing down. To show that it is serious, Armstrong offered Synbase employees a generous dismissal package – four to six months’ salary, if they are not comfortable with the new policy.
“Life is too short to work for a company you’re not excited about,” Armstrong wrote.
Now Armstrong says 60 employees accepted the package. Armstrong says it’s about 5 percent of the company’s headcount. Yet some more employees are in discussions with the company and may accept it in the coming days.
Armstrong wrote, “For those of you who have decided to move forward, I thank you for your contribution to Synbase and we wish you all the best.” “And for those of you who are choosing the next chapter, I thank you for your faith and commitment to this mission.”
Armstrong said “people from under-reprimanded groups” at Sicknbase do not accept disproportionate numbers of buyout offers. Armstrong said he is “committed to creating a diverse, all-encompassing environment where everyone feels like they belong.”
And while Siknabase is discouraging most political advocates, Armstrong admits one exception: that cryptocurrency itself is “inherently political.” Armstrong wrote that he “is okay about being political about this particular area because it relates to our mission.”
