The German micromobility giant, which recently acquired Spin from Ford, is laying off 16% of its workforce, or 180 people, according to CEO Laurence Leuschner on LinkedIn.
“Ultimately, we need to respond to the current economic and financial climate, reducing the number of projects and business lines we focus on as a company to accelerate our path to profitability,” Leuschner wrote.
Luschner also indicated that he is committed to helping those who have been laid off find new roles. Rank has set up a Rank Alumni page with a list of people who come out to help recruiters. While Thier did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for more information, the cuts appear to cover a wide range of groups, particularly in Berlin, with marketing, market development and technology groups being the biggest victims of the cuts.
The decision to downsize is the latest in a string of layoffs at tech startups, particularly at late-stage companies where the current economic climate makes it difficult to raise expansion rounds and grow their valuations. The level was previously estimated at 2 billion dollars.
The transportation area was not exempt from this. In June, Bird laid off 23% of its workforce, or about 140 employees, in a bid to tighten its belt and restructure internally. Last month, Lyft shut down its domestic car rental program, laying off 2% of its workforce, or about 60 workers. And this week, Ford Motor Co. announced plans to lay off 3,000 workers as it restructures around electrification.
The news of the delisting comes as the micromobility operator appears to be on a high after raising $200 million in an initial public offering in October last year. Last November, Level acquired Nextbike to double down on its commitment to offering e-bikes and e-scooters. In December, the company acquired Wind Mobility’s Italian division to expand geographically. In March, it acquired the Fantasmo to bring the startup’s camera-based scooter parking verification technology in-house and spin off Ford. All of these deals, except for Ford, are likely to be primarily equity deals, which means Rank doesn’t need to spend money on them, according to industry experts.
