Pump.fun Accused of Laying Off Employees Before PUMP Token Vesting

Pump.fun, a leading Solana meme coin launchpad, has been accused of cutting employees just before their PUMP token grants were set to vest. According to an investigation by Sandmark, Pump.fun laid off staff in late March and early April, citing rapid expansion as the reason.

The layoffs reportedly affected workers whose contracts ended in early April, with some receiving severance based on tenure. However, many employees were dismissed just weeks before their PUMP token allocations were scheduled to vest under agreements signed in June 2025.

A second round of job cuts allegedly took place in mid-July, with a former employee claiming that 40 workers were laid off one day before their PUMP token grants were due to vest. The employee also stated that there were never any plans for a PUMP airdrop and that the company did not believe in giving free money to users.

Pump.fun has not publicly responded to these allegations, which come as the token price has plunged 77% from its all-time high set last September. At press time, PUMP had changed hands at around $0.002, up nearly 5% in the last 24 hours according to CoinGecko.