Bridgewater Cut 7% of Its Staff in a Push to Stay Lean

• Bridgewater Associates cut 7% of staff, or about 90 people.
• The hedge fund, which manages $172 billion, is known for its radical transparency and high turnover.
• The company last laid off people in 2023 to cut costs and free up resources

Bridgewater Associates cut 7% of its staff on Monday in an effort to stay lean, a person familiar with the matter told Business Insider.

The layoffs bring headcount back to where it was in 2023 for the world’s largest hedge fund, the person said. It’s unclear which divisions were impacted by the cuts.

Bloomberg first reported the layoffs, including that 90 people were affected. Four of the firm’s funds posted double-digit returns last year, Bloomberg said.

The Connecticut-based company last laid off people in 2023 to cut costs and free up resources. At the time, it eliminated about 100 jobs in a workforce of roughly 1,300 employees.

Last year, Bridgewater’s high-profile hires included macro traders Jerome Saragoussi and Ben Melkman, and Ziad Hindo, a veteran investor with Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

The company is still hiring — the firm lists three open jobs for its Shanghai office.

Ray Dalio founded the firm in 1975 and relinquished his voting rights in 2022. Nir Bar Dea, who started as a management associate in 2015, is now CEO.

The hedge fund had about $172 billion under management as of November, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Bridgewater is known for its culture of radical transparency and pushing employees.

Dalio instituted a real-time rating system in which employees used iPads to score each other. One former intern told BI last year that she loved the process.

Dalio said in a 2019 interview that about 30% of new employees leave the firm within 18 months.