Bolt cut 30% of its workforce and replaced HR with a smaller people operations team focused on training. The CEO attributed problems to HR and said those problems disappeared after HR was removed. The company also reduced leadership dramatically and changed work policies by eliminating four-day workweeks and unlimited PTO. Bolt’s valuation fell sharply from $11 billion in 2022 to $300 million, and employees were described as complacent during boom years. Workers were given 60 days to adapt to a leaner culture, but 99% were said to be unable to make the shift. Bolt now operates with about 100 employees, with a smaller, more junior team working harder and showing better energy.
"“They were creating problems that didn't exist,” Breslow, 31, said at Fortune's Workforce Innovation Summit. “Those problems disappeared when I let them go.”"
"Breslow, who stepped down as CEO in 2022 but returned in 2025, cut 30% of the workforce in April and replaced HR with a smaller “people operations” team focused on training."
"He gave workers 60 days to adapt to a leaner culture but said 99% couldn't make the shift. “There's a sense of entitlement that had festered across the company,” he said. He fired nearly the entire leadership team and eliminated four-day workweeks and unlimited PTO."
"Bolt now operates with about 100 employees, down from thousands. “We have a team a quarter of the size, who are much more junior, who work a lot harder, who have better energy,” Breslow said."
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