The Nigerian fintech startup, Chipper Cash, recently abolished the roles of 20 workers based in the U.S. and U.K. The CEO Ham Serunjogi said this decision aligns with its goal of maintaining high operational efficiency and moves the startup closer to profitability. Layoffs Set Chipper Cash on Course for Positive Cash Flow in the First […]
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Citigroup told most of its employees that they can work remotely the final two weeks of December, CNBC has learned.
Workers can log in remotely from anywhere in their country of employment from Monday to Dec. 29, a Friday, making this week the last in-person experience this year for many staffers, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
The policy applies to hybrid workers, which make up the majority of the bank’s 240,000 employees, said the people, who declined to be identified.
Unlike last year, when the perk was introduced, employees are on edge over CEO Jane Fraser’s sweeping corporate reorganization, and some expressed concern over whether their jobs will still exist next year. Citigroup has said that Fraser’s review of the third-biggest U.S. bank by assets will be complete by the end of March.
The project, known internally by its code name Bora Bora, has already resulted in executive departures and the shuttering of the firm’s municipal bond business. Citigroup will disclose severance expenses tied to the project in January and again in April, the bank has said.
“This past year has been one of significant change across the firm, and as we approach the end of 2023, we look forward to this special time of year,” Citigroup’s human resources chief said last week in a staff memo announcing the remote policy.
“We hope that you will enjoy a break from commuting while continuing to stay focused on closing out the year,” the HR chief said.
Read more: Citigroup considers deep job cuts for CEO Jane Fraser’s overhaul, called ‘Project Bora Bora’
Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO:
Linda Yaccarino, CEO, X/Twitter speaks onstage during Vox Media’s 2023 Code Conference at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel on September 27, 2023 in Dana Point, California.
Jerod Harris | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
Linda Yaccarino sent a memo to employees of X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday in the aftermath of Elon Musk’s interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin, which she characterized to her staff as “candid” and “profound.”
On Wednesday at the DealBook Summit, Musk accused advertisers of trying to “blackmail” him by pulling ads from the platform after Musk said he agreed with a social media post accusing “Jewish communities” of pushing “hatred against whites.” Musk’s original comments drew condemnation from the White House, which blasted Musk for promoting “antisemitic and racist hate.”
“If somebody’s going to try to blackmail me with advertising?” X owner and CTO Musk said during the interview. “Blackmail me with money? Go f— yourself. Go. F—. Yourself. Is that clear?”
In the memo sent Thursday, Yaccarino told employees that the X owner “shared an unmatched and completely unvarnished perspective and vision for the future.”
She urged employees who did not watch the interview to “please take the time to absorb the magnitude and importance of what we’re all a part of. Because that’s exactly what I wanted to focus on with you today.”
During the interview, Musk lashed out at companies like Disney and Apple that paused their advertising campaigns with X. Musk denied he is antisemitic and apologized for his X posts, calling it “one of the most foolish if not the most foolish thing I’ve ever done on the platform.”
Read the full memo below:
Proud to be at X with YOU!
Hi all,
Yesterday I posted this about DealBook and the X community has been quite lit up today on the same topic. Elon’s interview was candid and profound. He shared an unmatched and completely unvarnished perspective and vision for the future. If you haven’t watched it, please take the time to absorb the magnitude and importance of what we’re all a part of. Because that’s exactly what I wanted to focus on with you today.
We’re at one of the most maverick companies in the world and we get to do things that have never been done before. X sits in a one-of-a-kind constellation of companies that are changing the world – from helping to conserve the planet through Tesla’s electric vehicles, to exploring new planets with SpaceX, to the seamless global connectivity of Starlink, to the potential of transforming lives with Neuralink, to responsibly reimagining the benefits of AGI through xAI.
You’re at X because you have the courage and conviction to build and operationalize the most consequential platform that exists. That’s quite an enviable position to be in.
Our mission at X is bold: to be an open platform without censorship of thought – one that provides people information and the freedom to make up their own minds. Our principles do not have a price tag, nor will they be compromised – ever. And no matter how hard they try, we will not be distracted by sideline critics who don’t understand our mission.
I’m immensely proud to lead this company – with the passionate people and partners of the X community and most fortunately with all of YOU.
As always, if you need me – I’m here.
Linda
Watch: Elon Musk to advertisers who are trying to “blackmail” him.
Ethereum (ETH) co-founder and Consensys CEO Joseph Lubin faces a lawsuit from 27 early employees who allege Lubin broke contractual agreements regarding equity shares.
According to the lawsuit, filed in the New York Supreme Court, Lubin promised employees “hub equity” in ConsenSys (as it was styled at the time), meaning shares in the central ConsenSys entity that would own the various products and subsidiaries.
This equity was offered as compensation for joining the company in its early stages at below-market salaries. Lubin stated the employees would be “joint stakeholders” and share in the potential upside of ConsenSys’s growth.
However, in August 2020, ConsenSys underwent a restructuring whereby the core assets, including MetaMask, Infura, and Codefi, were transferred to a new Delaware entity, ConsenSys Software Inc. (CSI), leaving the original Swiss entity ConsenSys AG holding less valuable assets.
Lubin emerged with a 52.5% stake in CSI, while most early employees were not offered shares. The employees allege this was a breach of contract regarding the promised “hub equity.”
The filing claims the asset transfer was executed without notice, shareholder vote, or offering employees the chance to participate. It alleges the valuation was manipulated to benefit Lubin’s personal interests.
It further claims Lubin misled employees about their position, rights, and the company’s plans. The employees are seeking damages for lost upside in ConsenSys’s growth, which they say robbed them of returns they were promised for their early risk-taking and contributions.
The complaint, filed with the New York Supreme Court, demands a jury trial and seeks “damages in amount to be determined at trial, including, but not limited to, Plaintiff’s expectation damages, disgorgment, and Plaintiff’s damages suffered as a result of Lubin’s [et. al.’s] actions; and… granting Plaintiffs such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and proper.”
Lubin has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit.
The post Joseph Lubin, Consensys sued by early employees over 2020 restructuring appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Good morning!
Employers and their workers can’t seem to find common ground on benefits. While 78% of employers believe their workers are highly satisfied with their benefits, only 59% of employees express the same, according to Aflac’s newest WorkForces Report, released this week.
The discrepancy underscores the gap between employers, who want a high ROI on costly benefits, and what resources employees will use.
“Employers are spending money simply because of increased health care costs. But employees are saying, ‘Yeah, that’s not necessarily what we want, and it’s not necessarily what we need [or] would prefer,’” says Jeri Hawthorne, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at Aflac.
It’s not just benefits costs where employers stand to lose money—unsatisfied employees may look for jobs that provide more desirable benefits packages. Just 48% of employees say they are confident that their employer cares, a sharp decline from 56% in 2022 and 59% in 2021. And 60% of workers who think their employer doesn’t care about their well-being say they are at least somewhat likely to look for a new job next year.
Workers may even be willing to make a trade-off in compensation to get the benefits they want: 53% of employees say they are at least somewhat likely to accept a position with lower pay but better benefits. The key for employers wishing to retain these employees is understanding what “better benefits” mean to their workers.
“It’s the focus of the company and the HR leaders of those organizations to say, ‘They’re saying better, what exactly does that mean when we’re thinking about offerings that employees actually want?” says Hawthorne.
While that answer will vary between employers, one area nearly all organizations can turn their attention to is mental health coverage. More than half (57%) of all American workers say they experience at least moderate levels of burnout—relatively unchanged from 2022, according to Aflac’s report. Workplace stress and heavy workloads are the biggest culprits. Women are also more prone to burnout, with 61% reporting at least moderate levels, compared to 54% of men.
Closing the gap is also a matter of educating employees on benefits. While 79% of employers think workers understand benefits costs well, just under half (48%) say they do.
“I think that a lot of companies offer great benefits. It really goes to how they educate employees about what those benefits are and encourage them to use the benefits on a consistent basis,” says Hawthorne.
Paige McGlauflin
paige.mcglauflin@fortune.com
@paidion
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
After an intense three days on the witness stand, Caroline Ellison, a former top deputy to FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), wrapped up her testimony on Oct. 12.
The day was characterized by emotional revelations, critical audio recordings, and frequent judicial interventions.
Ellison’s detailed account did not yield any breakthroughs that could be viewed as game-changers for SBF’s defense. However, her revelations painted a picture of a labyrinthine relationship with her ex-boss — from personal breakups to professional disagreements.
Her narrative combined detailed explanations of past events with a recounting of her professional dynamics with SBF. While Ellison’s testimony was laden with intricate details of her time at Alameda, it also touched upon her professional interactions with SBF, especially after their personal relationship ended in April 2022.
Key moments, such as the end of her personal connection with SBF in April 2022, and a dramatic FBI search at her family home on Nov. 16, 2022, were brought into the discussion. Ellison’s description of these events revealed the deep impact they had on her personal and professional life.
The courtroom witnessed several requests for sidebars — off-the-record discussions among the judge, prosecutors, and defense attorneys — during Ellison’s revelations.
Judge Lewis Kaplan, who is presiding over the case, occasionally showed signs of impatience with these interruptions and emphasized the need for a streamlined process. Eventually, he reprimanded both sides for the interruptions and urged them to limit their sidebars.
Following Ellison’s in-depth testimony, a former software engineer at Alameda, Christian Drappi, took the stand.
Drappi was initially hired in May 2021 and spent more than a year working for the company. His testimony detailed his astonishment upon discovering the illicit activities and the fund’s misuse of FTX customer funds.
During his testimony, the courtroom was presented with audio clips from an all-hands meeting held by Ellison on Nov. 9 that were introduced into evidence by a trader who worked for Alameda.
In the meeting, Ellison disclosed to Alameda Research employees that the crypto hedge fund had misused billions in FTX customer funds to make high-risk venture investments and to repay Alameda’s various loans.
The meeting took place just days before Alameda’s implosion and the subsequent bankruptcy filings for FTX and related companies. The meeting was recorded by a trader who had joined Alameda only a few days prior. Drappi said he was so shocked by the revelations in the meeting that he resigned within a day.
BlockFi founder Zac Prince was the last to take the stand for the day and provided a brief but impactful testimony. He told the court that the now-bankrupt company had extensive dealings with Alameda and had made significant loans to the company — amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Prince also said that BlockFi had held considerable amounts of cryptocurrency on the FTX platform due to its relationship with Alameda.
As the day’s proceedings drew to a close, the trial had taken the public on a roller-coaster ride — from the secret financial dealings of a crypto giant to the intimate personal revelations of its key players. The testimonies and evidence presented on this day are bound to have lasting implications as the trial progresses.
Judge Kaplan voiced concerns during the SBF trial about defense counsel Mark Cohen’s unconventional approach to cross-examining witness Caroline Ellison.
Cohen’s inquiries often echoed topics already addressed in the prosecution’s examination, which prompted Judge Kaplan to claim he had never seen a cross-examination of a collaborator done in such a way.
The prosecution frequently contested the pertinence of Cohen’s questions, leading to numerous sidebar discussions with the judge at the defense’s request.
FTX will receive a $175 million claim from the bankruptcy estate of crypto lending firm Genesis Global Capital, putting to rest potential counterclaims amounting to over $1 billion.
The settlement follows a chain of events involving the collapse of FTX and subsequent mass withdrawals from Genesis, which had significant financial ties to FTX.
While some major creditors initially opposed the terms, Judge Lane found them reasonable. A final hearing is scheduled for Oct. 18.
Judge Kaplan has mostly upheld his pretrial decisions in the case against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. However, evidence of SBF’s charitable contributions will be permitted, but not to prove his innocence.
Despite the defense’s pleas, Kaplan has excluded arguments concerning FTX’s regulatory status and details from the firm’s bankruptcy proceedings. He also dismissed allegations of inconsistency in his decisions.
Some U.S.-based employees of FTX reportedly knew that the exchange had a backdoor that allowed Alameda to withdraw customers’ funds, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Oct. 5.
According to the report, the employees stumbled upon this backdoor while examining the feasibility of replicating the code used by FTX International for FTX US. These employees were part of the LedgerX team, which FTX acquired in 2021.
After discovering the backdoor, Julie Schoening, the Chief Risk Officer at LedgerX, brought it to the attention of Zach Dexter, the company’s CEO. Dexter reportedly forwarded this information to Nishad Singh, Director of Engineering at FTX. Despite the discovery, the issue was not fixed. However, WSJ added that the issue eventually led to Schoening’s retrenchment in August 2022.
Meanwhile, a statement from LedgerX’s new owners, Miami International Holdings, denied that their employees knew of the backdoor. They wrote:
“Following a thorough internal investigation, LedgerX has found no evidence that any of its employees were aware of any reported code enabling Alameda to take FTX customer assets, and firmly denies any contrary allegation.”
This report comes in the wake of previous statements from FTX and Alameda executives, confirming their knowledge of the use of customer funds.
Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, purportedly informed certain employees that she, Nishad Singh, and Gary Wang were privy to the transfer of customer funds to Alameda.
These funds were purportedly borrowed to address Alameda’s financial obligations, with reports suggesting they amounted to as much as $10 billion.
These developments occur against the backdrop of the ongoing trial of the former FTX CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried. Before the trial’s commencement, several executives from the defunct exchange had already pleaded guilty and were expected to provide testimony in court.
Bankman-Fried has maintained his innocence and currently faces seven charges related to the alleged fraudulent activities.
The post FTX backdoor reportedly discovered by US-based employees: WSJ appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Commodity and energy trader Vitol Group made net profits of $15.1 billion in 2022, per Bloomberg.
Its 3,300 employees were paid an average of $785,000 – nearly double the sum for the previous year.
The salary and bonus figure dwarfs the average earnings of staff at big Wall Street banks.
Staff at Vitol Group received huge raises this year after the oil trading firm posted a record profit of $15.1 billion.
Vitol’s 3,311 staff each earned an average of $785,000 in salary and bonuses, according to Bloomberg, up from $394,000 in 2022.
Their pay vastly outstrips the average compensation at Wall Street banks such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley that paid an average of $312,000 and $280,000 respectively last year.
Vitol owes its huge profits to surges in the energy and commodity markets sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine early last year. It and rival traders Cargill, Glencore and Trafigura made combined profits of nearly $50 billion for 2022, per Bloomberg.
Vitol is the world’s largest independent oil trader, with its key executives based in London, according to the Financial Times. However, it also benefitted from big profits in other areas such as electricity markets, and liquefied natural gas trading, per the newspaper.
More than 400 of Vitol’s employee shareholders, who are mostly based in London, Geneva, Singapore and Houston, also shared a $2.5 billion payout last year, Reuters reported.
According to Bloomberg, the $15.1 billion figure for 2022 is more than the profits made by the company for the previous six years combined.
Vitol was founded in Rotterdam in 1966 and is based in Switzerland.
Vitol Group declined to comment to Bloomberg and did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.
Read the original article on Business Insider
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Binance is celebrating its sixth anniversary, with over 1,000 people reportedly laid off in recent weeks, The Wall Street Journal reported.
According to former employees, cuts were global and customer service workers were heavily affected, particularly in India. Including this week’s layoffs, over 1,000 employees have lost their jobs at the exchange. Before the slash, Binance’s global headcount was estimated at 8,000. The exchange could lose more than a third of its staff due to the ongoing reorganization.
Binance announced a 20% reduction in staff on May 31, claiming it was not downsizing but reallocating resources. “As we prepare for the next major bull cycle, it has become clear that we need to focus on talent density across the organization to ensure we remain nimble and dynamic,” a spokesperson told Cointelegraph at the time.
Data from Glassdoor recently unveiled that Binance was home to some of the least happy employees in the crypto industry. An exchange spokesperson explained that the company seeks to hire candidates “who can thrive in a truly high-performance environment,” in addition to being “obsessively focused on delivering for our users.”
Since early June, when Binance was hit by a wave of regulatory challenges across the globe following a lawsuit by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, the exchange has experienced several setbacks.
Binance was ordered to cease operations in Belgium, failed to obtain a license in the Netherlands, was denied a crypto custody license in Germany and lost its euro banking partner all within 30 days. The exchange is also under scrutiny in France and was subpoenaed to appear before Brazil’s Congress concerning a Ponzi scheme investigation.
According to The WSJ, Binance’s most enduring challenge is the ongoing investigation by the U.S. Justice Department of its activities and executives. Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has refused to give up control or step aside, raising concerns over the exchange’s survival.
Zhao’s response to the investigations reportedly sparked the departure of several top executives recently, including former chief strategy officer Patrick Hillmann. In his remarks on Binance’s anniversary, celebrated on July 14, Zhao said the company’s journey was “never all smooth sailing.”
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