Bolt conducted four rounds of layoffs from 2022-2025, shrinking from thousands of employees to approximately 100. In May 2022, the $11B-valued checkout startup cut 240 employees (30%). January 2023 saw 10% more cuts, December 2023 another 30%. By April 2025, founder Ryan Breslow (back as CEO) attributed the cuts to "AI investment." A company that once employed thousands was reduced to roughly 100 workers.
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Bolt CEO Ryan Breslow fired the entire HR team in 2025, saying "We had an HR team, and that HR team was creating problems that didn't exist. Those problems disappeared when I let them go." The company ended unlimited PTO and went through extreme operational restructuring. Breslow previously left as CEO in 2022 after controversial tweets calling Stripe and Y Combinator "mob bosses" for allegedly blocking Bolt's fundraising.
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Bolt — Worker Treatment: OPPOSED Bolt CEO Ryan Breslow fired the entire HR team in 2025, saying "We had an HR team, and that HR team was creating problems that didn't exist. Those problems disappeared when I le… https://reciepts.tech/stance/1493
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See all →Bolt and founder Ryan Breslow faced an SEC investigation in 2023 over allegations of misleading investors during its $355M Series E fundraise at an $11B valuation. Investor Activant Capital sued Breslow, alleging he took a $30M personal loan secured by Bolt shares, then used company funds to repay it after defaulting. The suit settled with Bolt canceling $37M of Breslow's shares. The company's valuation collapsed from $11B to $300M by 2024.