The NEAR Foundation has announced a workforce reduction of approximately 40%, affecting 35 team members across various departments, primarily marketing, business development and community teams. This decision, as revealed in the Foundation’s latest update, comes as part of a broader realignment strategy aimed at refining the focus on high-impact activities and further decentralizing the ecosystem.
Strategic realignment and workforce reduction
The NEAR Foundation’s decision to downsize its team is part of a calculated move to streamline operations. The move reflects a commitment to consolidate the Foundation’s efforts, focusing on a narrower set of activities that promise greater impact. This reduction is also in line with the Foundation’s long-term vision for decentralization as the ecosystem matures and different nodes drive more activity on the network.
Impact on the NEAR Foundation team
The workforce reduction will primarily affect marketing, business development and community teams. However, the NEAR Protocol engineering team at Pagoda will continue operations unaffected. The foundation has pledged support to affected colleagues during this transition period, helping them find new opportunities in the NEAR ecosystem, the wider Web3 industry or elsewhere.
NEAR Foundation Financial Health
Despite the reduction in the workforce, the NEAR Foundation’s coffers remain stable and well managed. With over $285 million fiat305 million NEAR tokens (worth over $1 billion) and $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 engagement
The NEAR Foundation reaffirms its commitment to advancing key areas such as blockchain abstraction, user-owned AI, and the mainstream adoption of the Open Web. This strategic shift is seen as a step towards more focused, efficient and rapid progress in these areas.
Conclusion
The NEAR Foundation’s decision to reduce its workforce is a strategic move aimed at aligning the organization’s structure with its long-term goals of decentralization and high-impact activities. While this decision brings significant change, the Foundation’s strong financial position and commitment to its open network vision suggest a continued positive trajectory for the NEAR ecosystem.
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