Ride-share service Lyft has laid off 383 employees at its headquarters—according to a company notice filed with the state on May 10—and has closed its San Francisco driver center.
Lyft is the latest company to announce a closure in the city as businesses and residents struggle with skyrocketing crime and an economic decline that some have called a “doom loop.”
“We’re sorry to announce the permanent closure of the Lyft San Francisco Driver Center,” Lyft posted on its website.
The company announced its plan to lay off employees in an April 21 email but didn’t provide additional details about the cutbacks.
Lyft also laid off 227 workers at its headquarters location in November 2022, according to state records.
The company’s CEO, David Risher, told employees that the company needed to bring costs down to deliver affordable rides, compelling earnings for drivers, and profitable growth.
A sign is posted in front of a Lyft driver center in San Francisco on Aug. 12, 2020. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
“We intend to use these savings to invest in competitive pricing, faster pick-up times, and better driver earnings,” Risher wrote. “All of these require us to reduce our size and restructure how we’re organized.”
The ride-hailing company announced in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it would let go of about 1,072 employees in total, which represented about 26 percent of its workforce. The company also said it had eliminated more than 250 open positions.
The news follows Nordstrom’s recent decision to close its two remaining department stores in downtown San Francisco, citing “dramatic changes” in the area.
A number of other retailers are also shuttering branches in the city. In April, the Whole Foods Market grocery chain decided to temporarily close a location on Market Street because of safety concerns. Walgreens, Amazon Go, and Anthropologie are also closing stores.
The retail cutbacks coupled with massive job reductions in recent years in the tech industry are having an impact on the city.
The closures are unfortunate, Daniel Herzstein, director of public policy at the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, told The Epoch Times.
“San Francisco has really been struggling, especially downtown,” Herzstein said.
Pedestrians walk by a closed Whole Foods store in San Francisco on April 12, 2023. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
California Layoffs List
California workers who are concerned about layoffs and major closures in their industries can check an online list published by the state.
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) list published by California’s Employment Development Department is updated every Tuesday and Thursday of each week.
Many states publish a WARN list but not all.
“The [WARN] Act helps ensure advance notice in cases of qualified plant closings and mass layoffs,” the U.S. Department of Labor stated.
Besides Lyft, recent notices for California include Dropbox, the online file-hosting service. According to the notice, Dropbox permanently laid off 182 workers at its headquarters in San Francisco in April.
Beverly Hospital in Montebello is also planning to let go of 68 employees in June. The medical center that catered to Medi-Cal and Medicare patients announced that it filed for bankruptcy protection in April. The hospital also announced that it would no longer provide maternity services, including labor and delivery, postpartum care, and inpatient pediatric care after June 11.
CJ Logistics America, a supply-chain logistics provider, plans to permanently close two locations and lay off 92 workers at its San Bernardino warehouse and another 48 at its Tracy, California, facility in June.
In another filing, Jenny Craig USA plans to permanently close its Fleet Street location in Carlsbad, California, and lay off 146 employees next month.
As of March, California’s unemployment rate was 4.4 percent with about 17.5 million people employed. This is slightly higher than the national unemployment rate of 3.5 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Jill McLaughlin
Author
Jill McLaughlin is an award-winning journalist covering politics, environment, and statewide issues. She has been a reporter and editor for newspapers in Oregon, Nevada, and New Mexico. Jill was born in Yosemite National Park and enjoys the majestic outdoors, traveling, golfing, and hiking.
