'Robinhoodies' knew about pending layoffs weeks before the company decided to cull more staff

Aaron Weinman
Fri, August 5, 2022 

Hi. Aaron Weinman here. Robinhood cut about 23% of its staff earlier this week, following a first round of cuts in April. The pandemic darling has come back down to Earth, and today we learn that some of the axed 'Robinhoodies' knew what was coming.

Vlad Tenev
Vlad Tenev, co-founder and co-CEO of investing app Robinhood.Noam Galai/Stringer/Getty Images


1. 'Robinhoodies' were tipped off to layoffs weeks ago. The company said it was shrinking office space and some managers warned of an impending "reorganization," Insider has learned.

The trading app laid off 23% of its staff on Tuesday, following a first round of cuts in April.

And the morale is grim. Former employees described a company laser focused on cutting costs, and a workforce with little clarity on their future with Robinhood.

"The company is hemorrhaging money," one ex-employee told Insider. "I believe in the mission itself, but people cannot trust us ever since GameStop."

Robinhood effectively brought stock-trading to everyone from your local barista to Wall Street's most trusted money managers. When we were cooped up at home in the early stages of the pandemic, Robinhood became a go-to app for folks with extra time and stimulus checks.

Now, a year after going public, Robinhood Chief Executive Vlad Tenev admitted the company added too much staff too quickly. His mea culpa also included an admission that Robinhood was not prepared for weaknesses in the economy.

Insider's Bianca Chan, Carter Johnson, and Asia Martin spoke with laid-off "Robinhoodies" about how they saw the writing on the wall.

And ICYMI - check out these stories the team at Insider have done on Robinhood's recent woes:

Robinhood employees' internal messages to each other at the height of the GameStop trading frenzy.


Robinhood has big crypto ambitions, but employees claim product delays, a cautious legal team, and turnover in leadership.


Robinhood's founders were 'visibly shaken' in announcing layoffs, but there was not enough work and too many people.


Talk of a Robinhood acquisition elicits visceral reactions from analysts and investors.


GENERATION ROBINHOOD: How the trading app conditioned its inexperienced users to obsessively play the market.