Hut 8, the cryptocurrency mining company who operates a data centre just north of Drumheller, has reportedly laid off a second round of employees this year.
CBC Calgary reported earlier this month Hut 8, a subsidiary of Bitfury, has let go more employees as the price of bitcoin, plunged over the last year after prices soared in late 2017.
The Mail reported in mid-January the company had made significant layoffs at both their data centres in Drumheller and Three Hills due to the falling price and uncertain future of bitcoin.
“As part of those efforts, we are streamlining our operations in order to help us advance strategic plans to develop innovative software and hardware solutions and focus on other emerging technologies,” Bitfury managing director Jeffery Mason had said in an email at that time. Bitfury did not provide a statement on the second round of layoffs as of publication time.
An employee who was let go in the first round of layoffs said while crews had worked to install new hardware at the site over the month of December, there was a sense layoffs were imminent due to the price of the cryptocurrency.
But the news comes as bitcoin has seemingly made a rebound in the month of April, jumping over $1,000 per bitcoin overnight from $5,500 on April 1 to over $6,500 on April 2. The price has remained strong, with values set at $6,755 per bitcoin on April 12. But it is a far cry from the upwards of $20,000 per bitcoin the currency fetched in late 2017, the same month power was switched on at the Drumheller mining facility.
In its 2018 third quarter financial report, Hut 8 reported over $17 million in revenue but posted an $11 million net operating loss.
