Lyft to ‘significantly’ cut jobs in new CEO’s first major move

(Reuters) -Lyft Inc CEO David Risher said on Friday the ride-hailing company will “significantly” cut jobs in another round of layoffs to reduce costs, sending its shares up about 4%.

The company declined to provide details on the number of affected staff, but the Wall Street Journal reported earlier in the day the move could impact 30% of Lyft (NASDAQ:)’s workforce, or more than 4,000 employees.

The decision comes weeks after the newly appointed CEO said Lyft was not for sale, disappointing some investors who had speculated that the exit of the company’s founders would pave the way for a deal and pushed up its stock last month.

Lyft could see costs slashed by half after the layoffs, the WSJ report said. The company in November laid off about 683 employees, or 13% of its then workforce, to cut costs and cope with stiff competition from bigger rival Uber Technologies (NYSE:) Inc in a tough economy. The two companies have been locked in a battle for market share coming off the pandemic lows, and investors worry that Lyft’s price cuts to avoid being a distant second in the North American ride-sharing market would squeeze its profits.

    The companies’ last reported results showed that Uber’s global presence and more diversified businesses were giving it an edge over U.S.-focused Lyft.

Lyft’s stock had fallen about 11% this year, compared with Uber’s price gain of 27.5%, as of Thursday’s close.