Lyft will "significantly reduce" its staff as part of a company-wide restructuring, CEO David Risher announced Friday.
The ride hailing company declined to share with NPR specific numbers on the potential impact of these layoffs. The Wall Street Journal reported that the layoffs could affect about 30% of Lyft workers, or around 1,200 jobs.
"David has made clear to the company that his focus is on creating a great and affordable experience for riders and improving drivers' earnings," a company spokesman told NPR.
"To do so requires that we reduce our costs and structure our company so that our leaders are closer to riders and drivers," the spokesman said. "This is a hard decision and one we're not making lightly. But the result will be a far stronger, more competitive Lyft."
Risher had only taken over the reins at Lyft this week, replacing the company's founders John Zimmer and Logan Green. But during an all-staff meeting a few weeks ago, Risher told employees that layoffs "were in the air."
"We need to be a faster, flatter company where everyone is closer to our riders and drivers so we can deliver on this purpose," he said in a publicly shared message to employees Friday.
The affected workers will be notified by next Thursday.
Several companies in the tech sector are experiencing upheaval, thanks in part to a major decline in digital ad revenue. Facebook parent company Meta announced in March that it was laying off 10,000 people. Also last month, Amazon announced it was cutting another 9,000 jobs after earlier announcing 18,000 workers would lose their jobs.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
