Lyft Inc. said it is cutting 13% of staff, or nearly 700 jobs, the latest technology company to say it needed to reduce costs ahead of choppy economic conditions.
Confirming an earlier report by The Wall Street Journal, Lyft co-founders John Zimmer and Logan Green announced the cuts to staff Thursday. “There are several challenges playing out across the economy. We’re facing a probable recession sometime in the next year and ride-share insurance costs are going up,” they wrote in the memo viewed by the Journal.
“We worked hard to bring down costs this summer: we slowed, then froze hiring; cut spending; and paused less-critical initiatives. Still, Lyft has to become leaner, which requires us to part with incredible team members,” they added.
The ride-hailing company has more than 4,000 employees, which don’t include its drivers. Lyft laid off 60 people, or under 2% of its workforce, in July. In May, it said it planned to slow hiring and reduce the budgets of some of its departments.
