Lyft is laying off nearly 1\,000 employees — 17% of its workforce — as the coronavirus sends ride-hailing industry into a nosedive

Lyft President John Zimmer and CEO Logan Green applaud as Lyft lists on the Nasdaq at an IPO event in Los Angeles March 29, 2019.REUTERS/Mike Blake
  • Lyft is cutting nearly 1,000 jbs and furloughing 288 others, it said Wednesday.
  • Both Lyft and its larger competitor Uber have seen ride-hailing volumes plummet amid the coronavirus pandemic.
  • Shares of Lyft were up more than 5% in trading Wednesday, outpacing broader market gains.

Lyft said Wednesday that it plans to terminate "approximately 982" employees and has furloughed 288 others as the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc on the ride-hailing industry.

Collectively, the job cuts and furloughs represent more than 20% of Lyft's last reported headcount of 5,683 employees at the end of 2019. The layoffs will cost the company between $28 million and $36 million in severance payments and other expenses, it said in a filing with US regulators.

Lyft also said that its executive leadership is taking a 30% pay cut, with vice presidents seeing a 20% reduction and "all other exempt employees" taking a 10% cut. Members of the company's board of directors "have voluntarily agreed to forego 30% of their cash compensation for the second quarter of 2020," Lyft said.

Shares of the company were up more than 5% in trading Wednesday, outpacing broader market gains.

The coronavirus pandemic has had an outsized effect on Lyft, and to some extent its larger competitor Uber, as stay-at-home orders around the world drastically reduce demand for on-demand car rides. By some private measures, ride-hailing volumes are down more than 90% in hard-hit areas, having an outsized effect on Lyft.

Lyft, without a food delivery arm the size of Uber's,announced earlier in April that it had launched a pilot delivery initiative to move essential goods like groceries and medicine. It's not clear what impact that's had so far on mitigating revenue losses from the pandemic.

Uber is also mulling possible staffing cuts,technology news site The Information reported on Tuesday. The company did not confirm any plans, but a representative told Business Insider it's "looking at every possible scenario to ensure we get to the other side of this crisis in a stronger position than ever.""

This story is developing…

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