Bolt Nigeria has laid off 22 out of 45 staff, representing nearly half of its staff operating in the country.
Details
According to a source from Technext24, members of staff affected include senior management, effectively making it the first time the leading mobility company would be laying off members of its senior management.
Digging Deeper
According to the source, Bolt is currently contending with high fuel prices and the cost of spare car parts in the Nigerian market. Driver earnings are also not enough which is leading to fewer trips and fewer drivers using the service.
What They’re Saying
According to a company spokesperson who spoke to Technext, the company is currently going through a “restructuring” process:
“Bolt has never done and is not doing any layoffs, which implies massively downsizing the team because the company is struggling financially. We have made the difficult decision to discontinue collaboration with 22 employees in Nigeria.
This decision comes as we have been going through the process of restructuring a considerable number of customer support and operational processes in the country,”
The Big Picture
Bolt’s measures are to help the company keep afloat in the meantime but the longer the macroeconomic factors stay stagnant, the more likelihood that Bolt could exit the Nigerian market or focus on specific areas including Lagos and Abuja to continue its operations.
Bolt’s Food services were shut down in December last year due to economic challenges.
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