zkSync CEO's Open Letter: Why Are We Conducting Layoffs?

Author: Alex G. (∎, ∆)

Translation: TechFlow

I just sent a message to the Matter Labs team:

Today, I’m announcing the most difficult change at Matter Labs in six years. We are undergoing an organizational restructuring and, as a result, must part ways with many outstanding team members—approximately 16% of our team. We have already communicated individually with each affected employee.

As founder and CEO, I take full responsibility for this decision and all prior decisions. To those who are leaving: it deeply saddens me that we’ve reached this point. Letting go of talented individuals for reasons unrelated to performance is painful. I will explain why we made this decision, how we are supporting departing team members, and what this means for the future of Matter Labs.

Why We Made This Decision

From day one, Matter Labs has believed in building a lean, focused team dedicated to one core mission: enabling mass adoption of cryptocurrency for personal sovereignty. A small and agile team has allowed us to drive impactful innovation forward steadily and adapt quickly to external changes.

This year, however, our market environment and business needs have shifted significantly. We’ve observed that teams building on zkSync Era now require different technical capabilities and support than before. At the same time, demand across ZK chains has grown substantially.

Matter Labs’ role within the decentralized zkSync ecosystem is also evolving. The launch of Elastic Chain and ZK Nation presented a natural opportunity to re-evaluate our strategy, goals, and team composition. Through comprehensive organizational planning, we identified misalignments between our current talent and role structure and our future needs. As a result, we conducted a thorough review of every position across the company to ensure the right people are in the right roles, maintaining agility and efficiency.

How We Are Supporting Departing Employees

For employees leaving today, we’ve developed a comprehensive separation package, including:

• Base Salary: Three months of base salary guaranteed.

• Health and Mental Health Support: Continued coverage for four months.

• Equity Vesting: Full vesting of options by the official departure date; for employees who have served more than six months, vesting schedules will be waived entirely.

• Career Support:

  • The list of impacted employees may be shared with investors upon individual consent.

  • One-on-one career support sessions with members of the leadership team to help plan next steps.

  • Resume and LinkedIn profile optimization guidance.

• Equipment: Employees may keep their company-issued laptops and other devices purchased through company allowances.

• Immigration Support: Assistance provided for the next four months.

Looking Ahead

As CEO, my responsibility is to continuously streamline our organization to prevent similarly painful adjustments in the future. I will ensure that every new function and role aligns tightly with our long-term strategy and maintains the highest performance standards.

While today’s changes are painful, I remain confident about the future. Demand for our technology is growing—this year alone, around a dozen chains have launched on Elastic Chain, with many more teams building on zkSync Era. We are also fortunate to have strong financial resources, allowing us to thrive even through prolonged bear markets. We will continue to grow and hire key talent critical for Matter Labs’ next phase.

Finally, I want to express my deepest gratitude to every team member—both those departing and those continuing on this journey—for your invaluable contributions. It is because of your efforts that Matter Labs has become what it is today: a transformative force advancing global freedom.

I’ll share further details about today’s decision with the team directly so everyone can hear the explanation from me personally. In addition, your team leads will organize dedicated forums and meetings for your respective teams within the week.

Alex