SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Lyft is preparing to lay off hundreds of employees just days after new CEO David Risher began steering the ride-hailing service with a eye of driving down costs to help bring its fares more in line with its biggest rival, Uber.
Risher, a former Amazon executive, informed Lyft’s workforce of more than 4,000 employees in an email posted online Friday that a “significant” number of them will lose their jobs. It came at end of his first week as Lyft’s CEO.
The note didn’t specify how many people would be jettisoned, but The Wall Street Journal reported that at least 1,200 employees will be laid off. The report cited unidentified people familiar with the cost-cutting plans.
San Francisco-based Lyft declined to provide additional details Friday, but said more information will be released next week.
Risher, who had been a Lyft board member before being recruited to replace co-founder Logan Green, cited expense control as one of his top priorities during a interview with The Associated Press shortly after his hiring was announced. By ensuring Lyft is “super efficient,” Risher said the company would be in a better position to lower its fares to lure back passengers who had shifted to using Uber more frequently because that service was offering lower prices for the same trips.