Bolt's chief executive has justified his decision to dismiss the company's entire human resources department, alleging that the team was 'creating problems that didn't exist'. Ryan Breslow, co-founder and CEO of the US fintech firm Bolt, stated that the HR division was eliminated as part of extensive layoffs intended to return the struggling enterprise to 'start-up mode'.
Layoffs and Restructuring
The company, which specialises in software designed to expedite online checkouts, reduced its workforce by approximately 30 per cent in April, marking its fourth round of redundancies in as many years. Speaking at a Fortune event, Breslow remarked: '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 32-year-old entrepreneur added that HR professionals are better suited to 'peacetime' conditions at larger corporations rather than a start-up environment that prioritises rapid growth and efficiency. Bolt has since replaced the department with a smaller 'people operations team' responsible for employee training and support.
Cultural Shift
'We need a group of people who are very oriented around getting things done, and there is just a culture of not getting things done and complaining a lot,' Breslow said. The company has faced mounting financial pressures in recent years, with its valuation plummeting from $11 billion in 2022 to just $300 million in 2024, according to The Information.
Breslow stepped down from the company in 2022 before returning in 2025 in an effort to revive its fortunes. He claimed Bolt had developed a culture of 'entitlement', with some employees no longer willing to work in the leaner conditions required after the company's decline.
Entitlement and AI
'There's a sense of entitlement that had festered across the company, and people who felt empowered, felt entitled - but weren't actually working hard. And this is the number one thing that I had to battle,' he said. 'Ultimately, most of those people just had to be let go.'
Bolt confirmed that fewer than 40 staff were affected by the latest cuts, which the company said were partly driven by artificial intelligence. In a company-wide Slack message sent in April, Breslow reportedly told employees: 'Developing products and operating in 2026 is very different than it was in prior years, and we need to adapt as an organisation to be leaner and more AI-centric than ever to keep up with competition.'
