Lime the largest e-scooter sharing company lays off workers and exits some markets

Lime, the largest electric scooter-sharing company on the globe will lay off 14 percent about 100 of its workers and will exit 12 markets according to a recent report. The action comes as ridership has probably dropped during the winter.

The industry is struggling to turn a profit. A recent article lists the 12 markets that Lime is leaving: "In the US: Atlanta, Phoenix, San Diego, San Antonio.In Latin America: Bogota, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Lima, Puerto Vallarta, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. In Europe: Linz (Austria)." Lime Chief Executive Officer Brad Bao said the company was leaving cities where micromobility was evolving more slowly.

Lime hopes to reach profitability in 2020

Bao was optimistic about its results in 2020: “Financial independence is our goal for 2020, and we are confident that Lime will be the first next-generation mobility company to reach profitability. We are immensely grateful for our team members, riders, Juicers and cities who supported us, and we hope to reintroduce Lime back into these communities when the time is right.”

Too many players in e-scooter sharing market

Lime, along with rivals such as Bird, Uber, and Lyft have all been struggling as they try to make their businesses profitable. Most expert analysts believe the market is oversaturated and there needs to be consolidation before anyone will make a profit. There has been a period of rapid growth but now companies must face problems that prevent them from making a profit. These include unit economics, software, batteries, and safety as well.

Lime has been joined by its competitors Bird, Skip, Scoot, and Lyft who have also laid off employees during recent months.

Lime has suffered loses recently

Lime operates in over 120 cities around the world. In 2019 it lost about $300 million on revenues of more than $420 million gross revenue. The loss could be from increased costs of depreciation of its e-scooters and its vast repairs operations.

Joe Kraus the president of Lime claimed that the company is now actually close to being profitable. He denied rumors that Lime was almost out of money and was seeking a new round of capital investment. Last October Bird had raised $275 million.

Bao remained optimistic for the future of the company even suggesting that over time it would reenter markets from which it had withdrawn: "At Lime, we remain focused on our long term goal: to play an instrumental role in reimagining and changing the way we live in and move around cities across the globe. We are immensely grateful for the partnerships we’ve enjoyed with each one of these cities and the continued support from our riders, and we remain hopeful we can reintroduce Lime back into these communities when the time is right."

Previously published in the Digital Journal