Foreign media: Pump.fun conducted large-scale layoffs two months before the employee token unlock, causing some employees to miss out on seven-figure PUMP tokens

According to Sandmark, documents and recordings obtained show that Pump.fun laid off employees two months before the unlocking of employee tokens, causing at least one former employee to miss out on a PUMP token allocation valued in the seven figures at current prices.

The layoffs occurred in early April, while the affected employees were supposed to start receiving token unlocks two months later (in June). Employees had signed a token agreement in June 2025, with a quarter of the allocation set to unlock a year later. Co-founder Noah Tweedale stated in an internal meeting recording that the reason for the layoffs was the company's "rapid expansion."

Former employees reported a second round of layoffs in mid-July, with the company having laid off over 40 people in the past two months. One employee claimed they were laid off the day before the token unlock, but Sandmark could not independently verify these claims.

Pump.fun operates in the UK under the name Baton Corporation Ltd, although it has blocked UK users since December 2024 (following a warning from the UK FCA that it may be providing financial services without a license) and is still on the regulatory warning list. In 2024, the company experienced an employee embezzlement incident involving the misappropriation of approximately $2 million, with the involved party sentenced to six years in prison. According to Companies House data, the company's latest annual report is overdue.