- Lyft, Inc LYFT froze hiring in the U.S. through the end of the year.
- Lyft, which cut 60 jobs in its rental division in July, combated surging expenses as U.S. inflation reached record highs, Reuters reports.
- The number of Lyft’s full-time employees increased from 2,708 as of December 31, 2017, to 5,000 as of June 30, 2022, a regulatory filing shows.
- Lyft said its costs jumped 35.6% in its most recent quarter.
- Several tech companies slashed headcount in recent months.
- Lyft’s larger rival Uber Technologies Inc UBER, also eased down hiring and cut marketing spending.
- Lyft posted a record quarter in August on the back of soaring demand for rides and gains from its cost-cutting efforts.
- However, Lyft warned that challenges would persist in the third quarter due to high insurance costs, macroeconomic uncertainty, and inflation.
- Companies ranging from Microsoft Corp MSFT to Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL Google emphasized cost-cutting and slowing down on hiring to beat the macro headwinds.
- Contrastingly companies like Palantir Technologies Inc PLTR and American Express Co AXP ramped up hiring to meet their ambitious sales targets.
- Price Action: LYFT shares traded lower by 3.60% at $13.65 in the premarket on the last check Wednesday.