Bolt CEO Defends HR Cuts, Pushes Aggressive AI Turnaround Strategy

Fintech startup Bolt is facing renewed scrutiny after chief executive Ryan Breslow defended eliminating the company’s HR department and laying off a significant portion of its workforce as part of a broader turnaround strategy.

Speaking at Fortune’s Workforce Innovation Summit, Breslow argued that the company’s HR structure had become counterproductive and was generating ‘unnecessary internal complications’. He claimed that many of those issues disappeared after the department was dissolved.

The comments come as Bolt continues a dramatic restructuring following a steep decline in valuation and several rounds of layoffs over the past few years.

As part of the restructuring, Bolt laid off nearly 30% of its workforce and dismantled its traditional HR structure, replacing it with a smaller people operations team focused primarily on employee training and operational support.

According to Breslow, startups attempting to recover and scale rapidly require flatter structures and faster decision-making rather than traditional corporate HR frameworks.

Bolt also rolled back several workplace policies introduced during its growth phase, including four-day workweeks and unlimited paid time off. Breslow said at the summit that the company needed to rebuild a more intense, high-accountability operating culture centred on speed, customer focus, and efficiency.

The company now reportedly operates with around 100 employees. Breslow claimed the leaner organisation has improved responsiveness to customers and operational efficiency.

Bolt currently markets itself as a “One SuperApp to rule them all,” offering services ranging from money transfers and rewards programmes to cryptocurrency trading.

The restructuring comes amid a broader shift across the global technology sector, where companies are increasingly cutting costs, flattening management layers, and reassessing workplace structures as profitability pressures intensify and AI-driven automation reshapes operations.

Meta is carrying out a sweeping workforce restructuring this week, including layoffs, employee transfers, and organisational changes tied to its AI ambitions. Meta Chief People Officer Janelle Gale reportedly said in a memo sent to the employees that as organisations redesigned their structures, many leaders began embedding AI-native principles into the way teams operate.