Dapper Labs Cuts 22% of Workforce Due To Market Downturn

Dapper Labs founder and CEO Roham Gharegozlou confirmed in a letter to employees that it has reduced the NFT company’s workforce by 22%. 

Employees who worked on NBA Top Shot, NFL ALL DAY, and other digital assets took to social media this week to announce they’d been laid off. 

“These reductions are the last thing we want to do, but they are necessary for the long-term health of our business and communities,” Gharegozlou wrote to employees on Wednesday after the cuts had been made. “We know web3 and crypto is the future across a multitude of industries — with 1000x potential from here in terms of mainstream adoption and impact — but today’s macroeconomic environment means we aren’t in full control of the timing.”

Gharegozlou said that the staff had grown to about 600 employees, meaning roughly 130 employees were let go months into a major downturn in the digital asset market. 

Impacted full-time employees received three months of salary and six months of COBRA health coverage, according to Gharegozlou’s letter. 

Despite the struggles, Dapper Labs continues to work toward new deals.

Among the major ones still in play is a deal that could become one of the largest for the company. 

Negotiations with the Premier League for its video NFT rights are ongoing. A source with knowledge of the negotiations told Front Office Sports that Dapper Labs and EPL could come to an agreement in the coming months.