Coinbase Employees Shocked After Chaotic Day of Job Cuts

Andrew Grass helped hire about 200 people at Coinbase Global Inc. earlier this year. Now most of those hires — and Grass himself — are gone.

In a process that several former employees described as impersonal and shocking, the largest US digital-asset trading platform on Tuesday cut about 18% of its workforce, or roughly 1,100 jobs, citing the plunge in cryptocurrencies and worsening economic conditions.

Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong revealed the news to affected employees through an email, but some said they didn’t receive it and found out about the layoffs via social media instead. Others said their first hint that something was ...