About a year ago, Tier Mobility was winning the shared micromobility game. Spurred by its $200 million Series D fundraising in October 2021, the company acquired three other micromobility operators and a computer vision startup, giving it access to electric bikes, a reach that stretched further. beyond Europe and in the US, and technology. needed to allay politicians’ security fears.
Today, Tier is in the midst of another round of layoffs. As a result of previous restructuring, Tier is laying off about 80 workers, some of whom are under the Nextbike umbrella, to compensate for the layoffs. Tier had bought the German bike-sharing startup in November 2021 to expand its vehicle offering beyond electric scooters.
Tier said the layoffs announced Wednesday will affect 7% of its overall workforce. While some teams will be affected more than others, the shakeup affects employees throughout the organization.
The most recent staff cuts follow Tier’s decision to allow 180 employees to return in August, blaming a poor financing environment and uncertain economic conditions.
The micromobility operator is also reducing the size of its Spin workforce by about 20 employees. Tier originally bought Spin from Ford in March 2022, a move that gave the company widespread access to the US. Seven months later, Tier laid off nearly 80 Spin workers and left Seattle and Canada. The company then laid off an additional 30 Spin employees in December when it decided to leave 10 other US cities.
A Tier spokesperson told TechCrunch that the company tried to rematch workers from redundant roles with any open roles in Tier and Nextbike to retain as many people as possible.
‘Full growth mode’ to ‘profitability first’
How did Tier go from being the world’s largest micromobility player to announcing layoffs every few months? Sure, the macroeconomic climate has affected most tech companies, and Tier isn’t the only micromobility operator to have announced staff cuts (looking at you, Bird). It seems that Tier, like most other tech companies facing tough choices, was expanding at a pace of economic growth that simply isn’t realizing before the 2023 recession.
Tier CEO and co-founder Lawrence Leuschner said today’s round of layoffs is part of a shift in the company’s overall strategy “from a full-growth mode to a ‘profit first’ mentality.”
The restructuring will include closing “a small number of cities where we do not see a path to profitability” due to factors such as unfavorable regulatory approaches, the company said. Tier did not say which cities it would come out of, but the operator’s future in Paris currently hangs in the balance as the city votes on whether or not to renew the licenses of Tier, Lime and Dott. However, the city’s strict regulations could make it unprofitable for Tier to be in Paris at this time.
Tier is also shutting down a number of side projects, including its own vehicle design program and Tier Energy Network, the company’s plan to put charging stations in retail stores to incentivize riders to trade in scooter batteries for rewards. . On the other hand, the company will shut down its monthly scooter subscription service, MyTier.
“Downsizing is a challenge for any business and particularly difficult for a company like Spin, which has already made fundamental changes to the business to ensure its long-term future,” said Philip Reinckens, Spin’s CEO. “We are confident that steps to increase revenue and reduce costs through further integration with our parent company will accelerate the company’s path to profitability.”
