Lyft freezes hiring within the US amid financial instability • TechCrunch

Lyft has been canceling job interviews this week and is reportedly on a hiring freeze within the U.S., based on nameless skilled community Blind.

The freeze impacts all departments within the U.S. and will final into subsequent yr because the ride-hail large continues to face financial uncertainty, based on Bloomberg, which was first to report.

The transfer comes after Lyft introduced its choice to sluggish hiring in Could with a view to carry down prices and drive profitability as its inventory continues to take a success. Lyft’s share value has sunk greater than 73% because the begin of the yr on the time of this writing.

In July, Lyft shut down its in-house automotive rental enterprise and consolidated a few of its car driver help areas, which resulted in a layoff of almost 60 workers. A couple of weeks later, throughout Lyft’s second-quarter earnings name, Elaine Paul, the corporate’s chief monetary officer, mentioned Lyft can be prioritizing R&D and reorganizing groups to remain centered on driving worthwhile development. Given the current hiring freeze and Paul’s feedback final month, Lyft might be gearing up for additional restructuring, with extra layoffs to comply with.

A Lyft spokesperson instructed Bloomberg the corporate had no plans for additional layoffs, however which may change if financial circumstances worsen — one thing Lyft is anticipating, per its lowered steerage for Q3 and full-year income development. Throughout Lyft’s Q2 earnings name, the corporate mentioned it’s making ready for macro headwinds like rising insurance coverage prices as a consequence of inflationary pressures, which is able to doubtless impression its contribution margin within the third quarter.

Lyft didn’t reply in time to TechCrunch’s request for remark.