According to available information, the Solana-based meme exchange platform Pump.fun began the process of laying off employees about two months before their $PUMP tokens were scheduled to be unlocked. As reported by Sandmark, at least one former employee was stripped of their tokens, which are worth over $1 million at current prices.
According to documents and internal meeting protocols obtained by Sandmark, Pump.fun terminated contracts with some employees in early April. It is reported that Pump.fun co-founder Noah Tweedale stated at a meeting in late March that the company was "growing too fast," making it difficult for the team to adapt quickly.
The laid-off employees were offered a severance package of one week's pay for each month worked at the company. However, it was stated that the primary damage to the employees was related to the distribution of $PUMP tokens.
According to the token distribution agreement signed by employees in June 2025, 25% of the earned tokens were planned to be released a year later, in June 2026. It is reported that at least one employee, laid off in April, lost their share of $PUMP tokens, valued at a seven-figure sum at current prices, because they left the company before the tokens were unlocked.
Despite the price of the $PUMP token having fallen by about 79 percent from its peak of $0.0089 recorded in 2025, the value of the asset in question is claimed to exceed $1 million.
Former employees claim that in mid-July, Pump.fun conducted a second wave of layoffs. A user with the nickname "ExPumpEmployee" also shared documents purporting to be termination emails, claiming the account owner was fired just one day before the token unlock.
According to former employees, the total number of people laid off over the past two months exceeded 40. Pump.fun co-founders Noah Tweedale and Alon Cohen reportedly did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.
In late 2024, the Pump.fun platform demonstrated rapid growth, becoming one of the most profitable platforms in the cryptocurrency sector. This platform, which allows users to create free memecoins in seconds, has created over 20.8 million tokens on Solana to date.
According to Dune data, Pump.fun's total revenue has reached approximately $1.3 billion. It is projected that the company's staff will grow from three to about 100 employees by early 2026. The platform's daily revenue is reportedly still around $1 million.
*This is not investment advice.
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