Lyft pulls scooters out of San Jose, Oakland

The company states it will lay off nearly 1,000 of its employees

SAN FRANCISCO » Lyft pulled its electric scooters out of San Jose and Oakland on the same day the ride-hailing giant slashed nearly 1,000 jobs because of the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Scooter service ended Wednesday for the two Bay Area cities and in Austin, Texas, a Lyft spokesman said.

“We’re focusing our resources where we can have the biggest impact and best serve cities and riders,” Lyft said in a statement. “We’re continuing to invest in our bike and scooter business, but have made the tough decision to shift resources away from three scooter markets and toward opportunities where we are set up for longer-term success. We’re grateful to our scooter riders as well as our partners in city government.”

Lyft will continue to operate scooters in Los Angeles; Santa Monica; San Diego; Washington, D.C.; Denver; and Miami, according to the company.

Before the shelter-in-place order, Lyft typically would operate 600 to 750 scooters in Oakland, but since the quarantine, that number dropped to about 150 scooters, according to the city Department of Transportation. Lyft was permitted to operate up to 1,000 scooters in Oakland.

Competitors Lime and Bird previously had pulled their fleets because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to an Oakland spokesman.

Lyft continues to operate Bay Wheels, its bike- share system that includes San Jose and Oakland, and is offering discounts to critical workers for its Bay Wheels program.

Lyft is providing Bay Wheels credit to scooter riders in Oakland and San Jose, according to the company.

On Wednesday, Lyft announced it was laying off 982 workers in a cost-cutting move. The employees make up 17% of Lyft’s workforce, the company said in the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Lyft does not classify its army of drivers as employees.

The company also furloughed 288 workers and cut base salary by 20-30% for executives. In addition. Lyft’s board will forgo 30% of its cash compensation for the second quarter of 2020, the filing said.

“The pandemic began to have a negative impact on business trends, including ride volumes, in mid-March, which has continued into April,” Lyft said in an April 21 SEC filing.

Lyft, which saw its revenues skyrocket to $3.6 billion in 2019 from $343 million in 2016, also has seen its losses grow to $2.6 billion last year from $683 million in 2016, according to its most recent annual report.