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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 toward 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 didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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.
