Lyft : cuts 2% jobs on journey to profitability

Lyft Inc said on Wednesday it had cut about 2% of its workforce, or 90 jobs, as the ride-hailing company seeks to achieve its goal of profitability by the end of 2021.

The restructuring happened in two of its teams, sales and marketing, the company said.

Lyft, which operates in 95% of the United States and select cities in Canada, including Toronto and Vancouver, said it had employed 5,500 people.

"We've carefully evaluated the resources we need to achieve our 2020 business goals, and the restructuring of some of our teams reflects that," the company's spokeswoman told Reuters.

Lyft plans to hire more than 1,000 employees this year, the spokeswoman added, without providing further details.

Chief Executive Officer Logan Green said in October that Lyft is expected to be profitable on an adjusted EBITDA basis in the fourth quarter of 2021.

The New York Times reported earlier in the day that Lyft plans to announce a restructuring that will result in job cuts.

Shares of the company closed down nearly 3% at $46.84.

Lyft said in October its active rider customer base grew to 22.3 million during the third quarter, up 28% from a year earlier.

Rival Uber Technologies Inc has promised it would achieve adjusted EBITDA profitability by the end of 2021.

(Reporting by Akanksha Rana and Ayanti Bera in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

Stocks treated in this article : The New York Times Company, Lyft, Inc., Uber Technologies, Inc.