The Ethereum Foundation is undergoing a major restructuring: a 20% staff reduction and a shift to a cluster model.
The Ethereum Foundation (EF) has completed a multi-month reorganization aimed at optimizing internal processes and improving treasury management efficiency. Under the new structure, the foundation has shifted from a traditional hierarchy to a system of five working clusters: Protocol Layer, Access Layer, User Layer, Community Layer, and Institutional Layer. Additionally, operational and management support units have been designated.
A key consequence of these changes has been a 20% reduction in staff, with 54 employees leaving the foundation. To mitigate the impact, EF offered departing specialists severance pay calculated based on one month's salary for each year of service or the local statutory minimum, whichever is greater. Furthermore, the foundation provided assistance in finding new roles within the Ethereum ecosystem and a small grant for related expenses.
This restructuring is not merely a personnel reshuffle but a strategic move reflecting Ethereum's maturity as a platform. The foundation is clearly striving for decentralized governance, delegating more responsibility to specialized clusters, which should accelerate decision-making and reduce administrative costs. However, losing 20% of experienced personnel is a serious challenge, especially amid intensifying competition from other layer-one blockchains.
Expert commentary: In the long term, such a reorganization could positively impact EF's efficiency, but in the coming quarters, we will likely see some turbulence in coordination processes. The key question is whether the new clusters can quickly establish effective interaction without compromising development quality.