Ethereum Foundation lays off 20%, budget cuts of 40%! The "Five Jungle Framework" officially unveiled

Ethereum Foundation announces large-scale restructuring, cutting approximately 20% of staff, totaling 54 positions. The foundation also simultaneously unveils a new five-core-team structure and plans to reduce annual budgets by 40%, focusing resources on protocol research and other core tasks.

Ethereum Foundation initiates major reorganization, cuts about 20% of staff

Ethereum Foundation announces its largest organizational overhaul in recent years, cutting about 20% of its staff and unveiling a brand-new five-core-team structure. The announcement has sparked attention from the Ethereum community and markets.

According to the foundation's disclosed information, this restructuring will eliminate about 54 positions, accounting for roughly 20% of the total staff. The foundation states that the organization has expanded continuously over the past few years, with some functions overlapping, leading to a decision to reallocate resources and adjust internal operations.

This personnel adjustment follows successive leadership changes within the foundation and is also one of the most significant organizational reforms in recent Ethereum Foundation history.

Vitalik proposes cost reduction goals

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently stated that the foundation aims to gradually reduce overall expenditures, targeting a roughly 40% cut in annual budgets over the next few years.

Vitalik believes that the Ethereum ecosystem has matured, and many tasks can now be handled by independent teams, research institutions, Layer 2 projects, and community organizations. The foundation should focus its resources on more core missions.

Foundation management indicated that future efforts will continue to focus on protocol research, core development, security, public goods, and long-term technical planning, while reducing some administrative and repetitive expenses.

In recent years, the foundation’s spending scale, decision-making efficiency, and fund utilization have often been topics of community discussion. This reform is also seen as an important step in responding to such feedback.

The Five Clusters organizational structure officially unveiled

In addition to layoffs, the Ethereum Foundation has also publicly revealed its new "Five Clusters" organizational structure for the first time.

Image source: Ethereum Foundation The Ethereum Foundation also publicly unveils its new "Five Clusters" organizational structure

Moving forward, the foundation will operate around five main industry sectors, covering protocol research and development, developer experience, ecosystem support, strategic coordination, and operational management.

The new structure aims to reduce hierarchical relationships between departments, adopting a flatter collaboration model to improve cross-team communication efficiency. The foundation states that while the clusters will maintain close cooperation, each team will have clearer responsibilities and work objectives to reduce resource duplication. This is also one of the few comprehensive internal organizational reforms since the foundation’s establishment.

Organizational adjustments after leadership departures

Before this restructuring, the Ethereum Foundation had experienced a series of important member departures. This includes Co-Executive Director Xiaowei Wang announcing her resignation, as well as several research, operations, and management team members leaving the foundation, which has sparked discussions about governance stability within the community.

• Related news: Xiaowei Wang resigns as Co-CEO, Ethereum Foundation’s core leadership departures raise governance concerns

Some community members believe that, despite the organization’s continued expansion, decision-making processes have become increasingly complex, leading to decreased resource allocation efficiency. Others support the view that Ethereum has grown into one of the world’s largest smart contract ecosystems, and organizational adjustments can help accommodate ecosystem expansion and role shifts.

Foundation’s evolving role

Over the past few years, the Ethereum ecosystem has gradually formed a development model involving the foundation, client teams, Layer 2 projects, research institutions, enterprises, and the community. Many early initiatives led by the foundation have now been decentralized to independent development teams, public goods organizations, and industry entities.

Foundation management states that moving forward, more resources will be allocated to long-term research, core protocol development, and public interest work, while strengthening collaboration with external teams.

The foundation has already begun operations based on the new structure, with related personnel and resource adjustments to be completed gradually. The market will next focus on how the foundation can maintain R&D capabilities while reducing costs, and whether the new organizational structure can improve overall governance efficiency.