Robinhood has announced plans to cut about 10% of its full-time workforce, affecting roughly 290 employees, as the company restructures its organization to improve efficiency and reduce management layers. The reported strong demand for its prediction markets, with 8.8 billion event contracts traded in the first quarter of 2026.

Job Cuts and Restructuring Costs

According to Reuters, the company said the layoffs form part of a broader effort to flatten its structure and speed up decision-making. CEO Vlad Tenev said the firm wants to avoid operating with multiple layers of management despite strong business performance.

Trading platform Robinhood cuts 10% of workforce to flatten management layers https://t.co/wdvMsO7vWy

— CNBC (@CNBC) June 16, 2026

Robinhood expects to record about $28 million in restructuring costs in the second quarter. These include severance payments, employee benefits, and stock-based compensation. The company will also close a small number of open roles but said it will continue hiring selectively.

• Robinhood Buys Regulatory Foothold in Canada With WonderFi Acquisition
• Robinhood Launches AI Agent Accounts for Automated Trading and Payments
• Robinhood to Launch Second Venture Fund Amid Continued AI Momentum

Keep reading: Robinhood Launches AI Agent Accounts for Automated Trading and Payments

The announcement comes as companies across sectors review headcount and organizational structures to improve efficiency. Robinhood’s shares fell about 2.5% in afternoon trading following the news.

The company said it is taking these steps while operating from a position of strength. It reported record average daily trading volumes in June across equities Equities Equities can be characterized as stocks or shares in a company that investors can buy or sell. When you buy a stock, you are in essence buying an equity, becoming a partial owner of shares in a specific company or fund.However, equities do not pay a fixed interest rate, and as such are not considered guaranteed income. As such, equity markets are often associated with risk.When a company issues bonds, it’s taking loans from buyers. When a company offers shares, on the other hand, it’s selling pa Equities can be characterized as stocks or shares in a company that investors can buy or sell. When you buy a stock, you are in essence buying an equity, becoming a partial owner of shares in a specific company or fund.However, equities do not pay a fixed interest rate, and as such are not considered guaranteed income. As such, equity markets are often associated with risk.When a company issues bonds, it’s taking loans from buyers. When a company offers shares, on the other hand, it’s selling pa Read this Term, options, and prediction markets.

Market Context and Business Performance

Earlier in the year, Robinhood missed first-quarter profit expectations due to weaker trading activity linked to crypto market volatility Volatility In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, or stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Trad In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, or stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Trad Read this Term. Retail investors typically reduce trading during periods of high volatility. Market conditions have since improved, supported by stronger equity markets and easing geopolitical tensions.

Robinhood has also been expanding beyond transaction-based revenues. The company has introduced additional financial services, including retirement accounts, wealth management products, and credit cards, to reduce its dependence on trading activity.

Robinhood saw strong growth in its prediction markets business in Q1 2026, with users trading 8.8 billion event contracts during the quarter. Robinhood’s first quarter looked “slow” because the legacy metrics that public market investors focus on weakened even as its new prediction products took off.

AI Bets and Big Buyback

Net revenue of 1.07 billion dollars was up 15 percent year-on-year but down from 1.28 billion dollars in Q4, so growth actually decelerated, and both revenue and EPS landed slightly below analyst expectations.

And amid rising adoption of AI technology, Robinhood earlier launched a dedicated accounts that let customers plug in their own AI agents to trade stocks and execute predefined strategies without manually using the app.

These AI-only sub-accounts must be funded separately from a user’s main portfolio, and the platform offers real-time activity feeds, profit and loss tracking, and transaction alerts so users can monitor what their agents are doing and turn them off at any time.

Additionally, Robinhood announced plans to buy back 1.5 billion dollars’ worth of its own shares after its stock fell nearly 40 percent this year and hit a new low before slightly recovering.