Lyft has more than 4,000 employees, not counting drivers.
Photo by Sebastian Hidalgo for The Wall Street Journal Updated November 3, 2022 12:05 p.m. ET
Lyft Inc. LYFT 0.32% said it will cut 13% of its workforce, or nearly 700 jobs, the latest tech company to say it needs to cut costs ahead of troubled economic conditions.
Co-founders John Zimmer and Logan Green announced staff cuts on Thursday. “There are several challenges throughout the economy. We’re likely to face a recession sometime next year and rideshare insurance costs are rising,” they wrote in the memo, seen by the Wall Street Journal.
“We worked hard this summer to reduce costs: we slowed down hiring and then stopped; cut spending; and paused less critical initiatives. Still, Lyft needs to slim down, which requires us to part ways with incredible team members,” they added.
The ride-hailing company has more than 4,000 employees, not counting the drivers. Lyft laid off 60 employees, or less than 2% of its workforce, in July. In May it said it plans to slow hiring and cut budgets for some of its departments.
Tech companies big and small have announced hiring freezes or downsizing this year after many were hired at a breakneck pace by the pandemic and now face a choppy economic outlook. On Thursday, payments startup Stripe Inc. said it was laying off about 14% of its employees, blaming the rough economic climate.
San Francisco-based Lyft also said it was selling its first-party vehicle service business and that most of that team is likely to receive roles from the acquiring company, which it didn’t name.
The company maintained its earnings guidance for the third quarter and full year 2024, but said it expects $27 million to $32 million in restructuring related to Thursday’s layoffs in the fourth quarter of this year. The company will release third-quarter results on Monday.
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