Bitcoin Miner Foundry Cuts Jobs, Focuses on Core Business

Foundry Spins off AI Arm, Cuts Jobs

Bitcoin miner Foundry has laid off nearly a third (27%) of its employees, with more than half of those affected based in the U.S. According to the bitcoin miner, employees were informed of the layoffs before a company meeting that endorsed the decision. Company CEO Mike Coyler confirmed the move, which leaves Foundry with 200 employees.

As reported by Blockspace, the layoffs are part of Foundry’s ongoing restructuring process. The company is also spinning off its artificial intelligence (AI) arm, Bittensor, into a new subsidiary called Yuma. The goal is to focus on Foundry’s core business of bitcoin mining and site operations.

“As part of this realignment, we made the difficult decision to reduce Foundry’s workforce, resulting in layoffs across multiple teams. We’re grateful for the contributions of all our employees, including those impacted by these changes ” the miner reportedly said.

Before Foundry confirmed the layoffs, another Blockspace report, citing anonymous sources, estimated that as much as 60% of employees were laid off. However, Foundry disputed this claim. The company also denied rumors of shutting down its hardware and ASIC repair business lines, stating that it is simply deprioritizing the hardware line.

Foundry’s decision to lay off employees comes amid a period of growth for crypto mining stocks, including Marathon Digital Holdings, Hut 8 Mining, and Riot Platforms. These companies have seen increased stock prices and revenue, despite the recent Bitcoin halving event which reduced the block reward to 3.125 BTC.

DCG, Foundry’s parent company, is undergoing a broader restructuring effort following the bankruptcy of its subsidiary Genesis. DCG invested hundreds of millions of dollars into Genesis to repay creditors, but a dispute arose over a $1.7 billion loan. The issue was settled in August, with DCG agreeing to pay Genesis $482.5 million in cash and cryptocurrency.