Justin Sun denies that Huobi is planning layoffs

According to a Jan. 2 report in the South China Morning Post, Justin Sun, CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange Huobi, has stated that the company is not laying off large numbers of employees.

The South China Morning Post cited earlier reports from Jiemian, a Chinese business news outlet that obtained an internal Sun statement. That report, which was presumably written in Chinese, could not be found.

Sun's statement, on the other hand, has been directly quoted in other sources. Sun stated:

“The media's report on Huobi's layoffs is incorrect... Huobi's business has recently grown exceptionally well, and its daily new arrivals have propelled it to the top of the industry. It is a critical period of development, and I believe it will be even better in 2023.”

Sun's claim contradicted a statement from an unnamed Huobi insider who told Jiemian that layoff rumors were “somewhat reliable” and that layoffs were in the works.

Colin Wu, who runs the cryptocurrency news site Wu Blockchain, spread rumors about Huobi's mass layoffs. Wu first reported on December 30 that Huobi would suspend its year-end bonuses. He also stated that the company would reduce senior employee salaries and reduce its workforce from 1,200 to 600 or 800.

Wu provided no citations for his claims. Nonetheless, news of the layoffs was widely disseminated by other websites, including the competing exchange Binance.

Since at least July of last year, Wu has spread rumors of impending Huobi layoffs. When Wu re-circulated his claims in November, Huobi denied them. Representatives stated at the time that “rumors of large-scale layoffs are false.”

It does not appear that any of the rumored layoffs were ever implemented — but Huobi may have done it quietly or postponed the subject.

Sun's assertions this week are undoubtedly the most authoritative. Sun is best known as the founder and CEO of the TRON blockchain, however he left the project in late 2021 and joined Huobi as an advisor in October 2022. Sun is likely to be well-versed in the inner workings of the organization.

Sun also stated on December 29 that Huobi is hiring female personnel as part of its diversity efforts. That declaration, however, does not imply that Huobi's personnel will grow in size overall.

Sun also tweeted about an unrelated topic today: Gemini's debt crisis. He described the current situation as “a challenging time for the entire crypto business,” and stated that Huobi stands by the crypto community.

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