NEAR Foundation announces 40% workforce reduction through strategic reorganization
NEAR Foundation announced it would reduce its workforce by approximately 40%, affecting 35 team members across a variety of departments, primarily marketing, business development and community teams. As revealed in the Foundation’s latest update, this decision was made as part of a broader realignment strategy aimed at focusing on high-impact activities and further decentralizing the ecosystem.
Strategic reorganization and workforce reduction
NEAR Foundation’s decision to reduce team size is part of a calculated move to streamline operations. The move reflects the foundation’s willingness to consolidate its efforts by focusing on a narrower range of activities that promise greater impact. This decline is also consistent with the Foundation’s long-term vision of decentralization as the ecosystem matures and various nodes drive more activity across the network.
Impact on the NEAR Foundation Team
The workforce reductions will primarily impact our marketing, business development and community teams. However, Pagoda’s NEAR protocol engineering team will continue to operate unaffected. The Foundation has pledged support to affected colleagues during this transition period, helping them find new opportunities within the NEAR ecosystem, the broader Web3 industry, or elsewhere.
NEAR Foundation’s financial soundness
Despite the workforce reductions, the NEAR Foundation’s funding remains strong and well managed. Over $285 million CommandWith 305 million NEAR tokens (worth over $1 billion), $70 million in investments and loans, the Foundation is well-positioned to continue supporting the growth, development, and further decentralization of the NEAR protocol and ecosystem.
Future Focus and Commitment
The NEAR Foundation reiterates its commitment to advancing key areas such as chain abstraction, user-owned AI, and mainstream adoption of the open web. This strategic change is seen as a step towards more focused, efficient and rapid development in these areas.
conclusion
NEAR Foundation’s decision to reduce its workforce is a strategic move to align the organization’s structure with its long-term goals of decentralization and high-impact activities. While this decision marks a significant change, the Foundation’s strong financial position and commitment to the open web vision point to a continued positive trajectory for the NEAR ecosystem.
Image source: Shutterstock
