Why I Sacked Our Entire HR Team – Bolt CEO

The Chief Executive Officer of United States fintech firm Bolt, Ryan Breslow, has defended his decision to dismiss the company’s entire Human Resources (HR) department, claiming the unit was inventing unnecessary workplace issues.

Breslow made the disclosure during a corporate event hosted by Fortune, where he stated that the decision was part of a broader structural reorganisation aimed at returning the firm to a lean start-up mode.

The company recently downsized its workforce by approximately 30 percent, marking its fourth round of layoffs in recent years as it transitions toward an artificial intelligence (AI)-centric operational model.

“We had an HR team, and that HR team was creating problems that didn’t exist. Those problems disappeared when I let them go,” Breslow stated, adding that traditional HR structures are often better suited for established corporations rather than fast-scaling technology startups.

The 32-year-old executive, who returned to lead the company in 2025 after stepping down in 2022, noted that the department has since been replaced with a streamlined “people operations team” focused strictly on essential employee training and operational support.

Breslow further lamented that an internal culture of “entitlement” had negatively impacted productivity, necessitating decisive restructuring measures to maintain competitiveness in the current economic landscape.

According to the CEO he said operating a business in 2026 requires organizations to adapt to a leaner, more AI-driven framework to withstand intense market competition.