BlockFi bankruptcy case: Court approves $10 million employee retention program to fight Google, Walmart

BlockFi has been making the headlines for the last few days thanks to its bankruptcy proceedings. The impact the crypto lender’s bankruptcy has had on the company led to BlockFi taking its plea to court to enable the company to retain its remaining few employees.

BlockFi gets a second chance

BlockFi, earlier this week, filed with the bankruptcy court requesting an increase in salary and bonuses for its existing employees. This was done to ensure that the crypto lender does not end up losing any more of its workforce to the likes of Google, Meta, Walmart, etc. As it is, the recent exit of 11 employees wiped out nearly 10% of its remaining personnel.

Thus, approving the request, New Jersey bankruptcy court Judge Michael Kaplan stated,

“It offers the debtor and the employee an opportunity to move forward and maximize the estate. I’m happy to approve it going forward.”

BlockFi is set to implement its employee retention program following the court’s approval. The retention program will enable BlockFi debtors to offer the employees bonuses between 9% to 42.5% based on the earnings of the individual. This program, in all, would work at an estimated cost of up to $10 million.

Commenting on the same, BlockFi’s lawyer, Rush Howell, stated,

“This was a perfect mix for potential attrition and unfortunately the debtors have seen that attrition. It’s essential that the debtors institute these retention programs to keep critical workers with the company.” 

BlockFi fixes another mistake

Earlier this week, reports of BlockFi being exposed to FTX for $1.2 billion came to light. The figure announced was $200 million higher than the previous estimates, worrying some members of the crypto community who ended up calling these “secret financials” hidden by BlockFi.

BlockFi further acknowledged the recent mess-up by saying that the similar “snafu” was a mistake and that the company was transparent in its account.