Bird lays off up to 5% of workforce

[NelsonG]

Electric scooter startup Bird has laid off between four to five percent of its workforce, The Information first reported. That comes out to about 40 people of its ~900-employee workforce. This comes shortly after Lyft laid off up to 50 employees in its bikes and scooters division.

“As we establish local service centers and deeper roots in cities where we provide service, we have shifting geographic workforce needs,” a Bird spokesperson told TechCrunch. “We are expanding our employee bases in locations that match our growing operations around the world, while developing an efficient operating structure at our Santa Monica headquarters. The recent events are a reflection of shifting geographical needs and our annual talent review process.”

The layoffs were part of Bird’s annual performance review process and only affected U.S.-based employees, TechCrunch has learned. Those laid off are eligible for severance, including health and medical benefits. Despite the layoffs, Bird is actively looking to hire for more than 100 positions throughout the company.

Earlier this month, Bird unveiled its platform to let entrepreneurs manage their own fleet of scooters in New Zealand. Bird Platform is part of Bird’s mission to bring its scooters across the world “and empower local entrepreneurs in regions where we weren’t planning to launch, to run their own electric scooter-sharing program with Bird’s tech and vehicles,” Bird CEO Travis VanderZanden told TechCrunch earlier this month.

Bird has raised more than $400 million in funding to date and is reportedly in the midst of raising an additional $300 million.

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