Business

Robinhood laying off 9% of full-time employees — here’s why

Retail trading platform Robinhood Markets Inc said on Tuesday it is laying off about 9% of its full-time employees, sending its shares down 5% in extended trade.

The company, which is reporting its quarterly results later this week, said the rapid headcount growth has led to some duplicate roles and job functions.

As of Dec. 31, the company’s total headcount was 3,800.

Robinhood’s easy-to-use interface has made it a hit among young investors trading from home on cryptocurrencies and “meme” stocks such as GameStop during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We will continue to accelerate our product momentum through 2022 and will introduce key new products across brokerage, crypto and spending/saving,” Chief Executive Officer Vlad Tenev wrote in a blogpost.