Pump.fun lays off staff before PUMP token vesting, employees lose seven‑figure allocations

Pump.fun, a Solana‑based memecoin launchpad, dismissed employees in late March and early April 2026, weeks before the first tranche of their PUMP token grants was scheduled to vest. The layoffs affected roughly 40 workers, and a second wave was reported in mid‑July, with an anonymous X account claiming another 40 staff were cut a day before a vesting date. Employees had signed token‑grant agreements in June 2025 that would release 25 % of their allocations after one year; the early terminations meant at least one former worker forfeited tokens now valued at over $1 million. Severance was offered at one week of salary per month of service. Co‑founder Noah Tweedale told staff the cuts were necessary because the company had “grown too quickly.” Co‑founder Alon Cohen has not commented. Pump.fun continues to generate revenue, with DefiLlama reporting $19.1 million in the 30‑day period ending 22 July and cumulative revenue exceeding $1.07 billion since March 2024. The PUMP token trades around $0.002, about 77 % below its September 2025 peak, and the firm burned roughly $370 million of repurchased tokens in April. The company, operating under Baton Corporation Ltd., has not publicly responded to the allegations.