Lyft to lay off 1,072 workers or 26% of its workforce, just a month after the founders stepped down

Lyft is the latest to join the layoff trend. The ride-hailing app giant is laying off 1,072 employees, or about 26% of its corporate workforce, the company said in an SEC filing Thursday. Lyft also added that it won’t hire for an additional 250 positions.

The news comes just a month after Lyft’s co-founders Logan Green and John Zimmer stepped down from the company they founded over a decade ago. Green, who was previously the CEO, was succeeded by former Amazon exec David Risher on April 17. The latest job cut was part of Risher’s efforts to streamline operations, cut costs, and get the company on the path to profitability.

The two co-founders will stay on at Lyft in non-executive roles as chair and vice chair of the Lyft board, respectively. Lyft has not named any replacement for Zimmer.

In their board and adviser roles, Green and Zimmer will focus on supporting a seamless transition of responsibilities to Mr. Risher and the continued growth of the company’s mission, Lyft said. Sean Aggarwal, current Lyft board chair, will transition to the role of lead independent director, the ridesharing company said in a statement.

Lyft highlighted Risher’s past leadership roles at Amazon and Microsoft, even though his LinkedIn profile indicates that he has not been employed by either company for the past 20 years. According to Lyft’s statement, Risher was Amazon’s 37th employee and served as the company’s inaugural head of product and head of US retail.

Meanwhile, Lyft is not alone. Tech giants like Spotify, Google’s Alphabet, and Nvidia have all taken measures to rein in spending. Other companies like Coinbase, Shopify, Netflix, and Twilio have also announced layoffs.

In March, Facebook-parent company Meta announced it would cut 10,000 jobs, just four months after it let go of 11,000 employees, making the social giant the first Big Tech company to announce a second round of mass layoffs.

Meanwhile, the global economic downturn that started in the second quarter of 2022 is beginning to have a major impact on tech companies. At least 629 tech companies have let go of 185,136 workers, according to Layoffs.FYI, a site that has been tracking all tech layoffs using data compiled from public reports.

Founded in 2012 by John Zimmer and Logan Green, the San Francisco, California-based Lyft is a peer-to-peer transportation platform founded in 2012 to connect passengers who need rides with drivers willing to provide rides using their own personal vehicles. The company currently operates in 68 cities across the U.S.