Lyft to cut 17% of staff and furlough hundreds more due to pandemic

CNN Business — Lyft plans to cut nearly 1,000 staffers and furlough hundreds more as it grapples with the impact of the ongoing pandemic on people using its ride-hailing services. In the filing, Lyft cited the downsizing as a means of curbing operating expenses and adjusting its cash flow “in light of the ongoing economic challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the company’s business.” Additionally, Lyft is implementing salary reductions for many employees, including a 30% cut for executive leadership and 20% for vice presidents. “Our guiding principle for decision-making right now is to ensure we emerge from the crisis in the strongest possible position to achieve the company’s mission.” The news comes one day after tech news site The Information reported that rival Uber is weighing significant staff cuts as well. In a statement to CNN Business about the reported layoff discussions, an Uber spokesperson said: “As you would expect, the company is looking at every possible scenario to ensure we get to the other side of this crisis in a stronger position than ever.” Both companies have a history of steep losses and went through layoffs prior to the pandemic.