Matter Labs Announces Difficult Organizational Changes: Why We Are Downsizing

In a recent communication to the Matter Labs team, I shared a challenging decision that marks one of the most difficult moments in the company’s six-year history. We are undergoing a significant organizational restructuring, which unfortunately involves parting ways with approximately 16% of our talented team members. Each affected employee has been individually informed of this decision.

As the founder and CEO, I take full responsibility for this decision and all previous ones leading up to it. It deeply saddens me to part ways with exceptional colleagues for reasons unrelated to their performance. I want to explain the rationale behind this decision, how we plan to support our departing team members, and what this means for the future of Matter Labs.

Reasons for the Decision

Since our inception, Matter Labs has been committed to building a lean and focused team, dedicated to our core mission of advancing cryptocurrency adoption in the realm of personal sovereignty. This streamlined approach has enabled us to steadily push forward with impactful innovations and adapt to external changes.

This year, we have witnessed significant shifts in both the market environment and business demands. We observed that many teams developing on zkSync Era now require different technologies and support than before. Additionally, the demand for ZK chains has surged.

The role of Matter Labs within the decentralized zkSync ecosystem is also evolving. The launch of Elastic Chain and ZK Nation presents a timely opportunity to reassess our strategy, goals, and team composition. Following a thorough organizational review, we identified that our current talent and role distribution no longer fully align with our needs. We scrutinized every role within the company to ensure the right people are in the right positions, aiming to maintain the team’s agility and efficiency.

Support for Departing Employees

For those leaving today, we have implemented a comprehensive severance package, which includes:

• Base Salary: Provision of three months of base salary.
• Medical and Mental Health Support: Continuation of health and mental health benefits for four months.
• Vested Equity: Full vesting of stock options before the formal departure date. Employees who have been with the company for over six months will have their vesting periods waived.
• Career Support:
• Optional sharing of the list of affected employees with investors.
• One-on-one career support meetings with members of the leadership team to help with career planning.
• Assistance with resume and LinkedIn profile optimization.
• Equipment: Employees may retain company-provided laptops and other devices purchased through company allowances.
• Immigration: Assistance with immigration matters will be provided for the next four months.

This decision, though difficult, is part of our commitment to adapting to the evolving landscape and ensuring that Matter Labs continues to thrive in the long run. We are grateful for the contributions of our departing colleagues and will support them through this transition as best as we can.