SAN FRANCISCO (BRAIN) — Bikeshare company Lyft announced a restructuring plan that includes laying off about 1% of its workforce — affecting about 30 employees — and no longer operating standalone dockless bikes and scooters.
Lyft said the restructuring plan, included in an SEC filing on Wednesday, will improve its adjusted EBITDA by about $20 million by the end of next year.
Lyft will discontinue dockless scooters in Washington, D.C., and seek alternatives to dockless bikes gand scooters in Denver. The pivot to narrowing the product portfolio and focusing on e-bikes, bikes, scooters, electrified docking stations, and software will better serve cities, Lyft said in a website post.
In cities where it doesn't operate its own bikes and scooters, Lyft has partnered with Bird and Spin to allow riders access to them through the Lyft app. Also, the e-bike and scooter division will be renamed Lyft Urban Solutions and will be led by Michael Brous, Lyft's former head of operations.
Lyft will spend less on research and development and focus on deployment, according to the website post. In the regulatory filing, Lyft "will incur approximately $34 million to $46 million of restructuring and related charges, of which $32 million to $42 million are related to asset disposal costs with the remaining costs related to employee severance and benefit costs, and advisory fees." The charges will be incurred mainly in the third quarter.
In July 2023, Lyft said it was listening to purchase and investor offers for its e-bike and e-scooter bikeshare division. It operates bikeshare operations in eight U.S. cities, including New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Denver. Lyft's bikes, scooters, docks, and software make up bikeshare systems in more than 50 markets and 16 countries.
