Robinhood's Dual Layoffs in 2022 Exposed the Limits of Pandemic-Era Scaling

Robinhood cut 23% of staff in August 2022, its second reduction in four months, as retail trading volumes collapsed. The company had aggressively hired through 2020–2021 to handle surging user growth and regulatory demands. Once meme-stock volatility and crypto enthusiasm faded, the revenue model—dependent on transaction volumes and margin balances—contracted sharply, making the inflated cost base unsustainable. The August cut signaled the April round had not gone far enough.