Pump.fun Laid Off Over 40 Workers as Million Dollar Token Claims Rise

• Pump.fun layoffs reportedly affected employees before PUMP token vesting.
• Former workers claim some missed token rewards worth over $1 million.
• Pump.fun has not publicly responded to the allegations.

Pump.fun layoffs have drawn attention after former employees alleged that the Solana memecoin launchpad reduced its workforce shortly before scheduled PUMP token allocations. An anonymous X account claiming to represent more than 40 former staff members shared termination emails this week.

According to Sandmark, the reported layoffs happened in late March and early April. Some former employees allegedly lost access to token rewards that were set to unlock months after their employment ended.

Pump.fun Layoffs Linked To Employee Token Claims

The reported Pump.fun layoffs involved contract terminations that came before employee token vesting dates. Sandmark said its report relied on internal documents, recordings, emails and conversations with former workers.

The report stated that at least one former employee missed a PUMP token allocation valued above $1 million based on current market prices. However, Sandmark noted that it could not independently verify every claim, including the total number of affected employees.

Pump.fun co-founder Noah Tweedale reportedly explained the workforce reduction by saying the company had grown too quickly. Employees affected by the cuts allegedly received severance equal to one week of salary for each month worked.

Meanwhile, former workers claimed the main concern was losing future PUMP rewards. They said token grant agreements signed in June 2025 included a vesting schedule tied to employment status.

Pump.fun Faces Scrutiny After Token Unlock Events

Tokenomist data showed the release included 82.5 billion PUMP tokens. The team allocation represented 50 billion tokens, while existing investors received 32.5 billion tokens.

Pump.fun has continued generating revenue despite the controversy. DefiLlama data showed the platform recorded $19.1 million in revenue over 30 days through July 22.

At press time, the PUMP token trades 4.94% higher at $0.00209 after the allegations surfaced. The token remained below previous highs despite continued activity around the Solana-based launchpad.

Pump.fun has not issued a public response regarding the former employees’ claims. Sandmark also reported allegations of another layoff round in July, though those details remain unverified.