Lyft Cuts 13% Of Staff In 2nd Round Of Layoffs

Lyft Inc. (LYFT) is laying off 13% of its staff, some 700 workers, the company said in an email to employees Thursday.

The ride-sharing company in June cut 60 jobs and shuttered its car rental venture.

"There are several challenges playing out across the economy," co-founders John Zimmer and Logan Green wrote in the email viewed by The Wall Street Journal. "We're facing a probable recession sometime in the next year and rideshare insurance costs are going up,"

Lyft said it has roughly 5,000 employees.

The company also reorganized its global operations team. Lyft shares have fallen 68% this year, dropping its market capitalization below $5 billion.

"We need 2023 to be a period where we can better execute without having to change plans in response to external events — and the tough reality is that today's actions set us up to do that," Zimmer and Green wrote in the company-wide email.

Other tech companies have announced hiring freezes, including Lyft competitor Uber (UBER).

Lyft said it expects between $27 million to $32 million in restructuring-related costs. The company will announce its third-quarter earnings on Monday and maintains its 2024 full-year earnings forecast.