Binance issued a statement that the firings were related to poor performance and "cultural fit", an unlikely explanation for such a substantial cut.
In January 2023, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao had stated that Binance planned to grow its employee count by 15–30% in 2023, even after more than doubling its employees in 2022. In March, responding to rumors of layoffs, Binance stated that they were "not planning any layoffs" and that in fact they planned to hire more than 500 employees by mid-year.