Tech layoffs: Uber rival Lyft fires 26% employees in second round of job cuts

One of Uber's primary rival in the ride-hailing business, Lyft has announced that it will lay off about 1,072 employees, representing 26% of its workforce. The move is part of a series of cost-cutting measures being taken by the new CEO, David Risher, who took over earlier this month. 

Last week, Risher had previously stated that the company would "significantly" cut jobs, without giving specific numbers. Lyft will also eliminate more than 250 open positions and incur a cost of between $41 million and $47 million for severance and employee benefits in the second quarter.

Lyft will also remove three layers of management, from eight to five, and divide its ride-sharing business into three core teams. The company will also take additional costs related to stock-based compensations, which it said cannot be estimated at the time.

The savings from the job cuts will be used to support "service-level improvements" for riders and drivers, according to Lyft. The company promises to offer more details in its first-quarter earnings call on May 4.

Also read: Amazon layoffs: Company cuts jobs in Studios and Prime Video divisions

This is the second round of job cuts by Lyft, which faces competition from larger rival Uber in a slowing economy. In November, the company laid off about 683 employees, representing 13% of its workforce at the time.

Lyft's shares closed up 1.5% on Thursday. So far this year, the company has lost 8.8% of its value, compared to Uber's 20% gain.

Also read: Tech layoffs: Dropbox removes 16% workforce, plans to hire new employees with AI skills