GameStop Chief Financial Officer Mike Recupero was fired from the video-game retailer amid a cost-cutting drive that has followed a hiring spree in the last 18 months.

Recupero had served as CFO since June 2021 and will be replaced by Chief Accounting Officer Diana Jajeh.

In a letter to employees, CEO Matt Furlong said GameStop is focused on "eliminating excess costs and operating with an intense owner's mentality."

GameStop has hired more than 600 people since the start of 2021, but it is now looking to reverse that expansion to reduce expenses. Its shares were down 6% to $126,97 in premarket trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company has been taking steps into Web3 over the last year, developing a digital asset wallet for storing crypto and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) ahead of its planned launch of a NFT marketplace later this year.

In its latest quarterly report, GameStop reported proceeds of $76.9 million from digital asset sales. It remains to be seen how much the crypto bear market will affect the company.

According to Furlong's letter, however, GameStop intends to develop new products in digital assets and Web3.

GameStop didn't immediately respond to a request for further comment.

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