Getaround, the tech-driven car rental firm based in San Francisco, is slashing its workforce again, letting go of about a third of its North American employees. The company announced the layoffs are part of a greater restructuring agenda aimed at realizing profitability goals, as confirmed by a Business Wire press release. Getaround's CEO, Sam Zaid, cited the company's focus on "profitability and sustainable business growth" as the driving force behind the decision.

Though the number of staff laid off has not been specified, the effects were calculated based on a previous headcount of 283 full-time employees noted in Getaround's last earnings report in December 2022, as per the San Francisco Chronicle. After cutting 10% of its staff last spring and acquiring Hyrecar in May, the fresh cuts are seen as a move to save approximately $7 million annually, marked by the premature termination of the company's lease at its headquarters at 55 Green St., contracted till 2029.

In addition to the workforce reduction, Getaround hopes to reap the benefits of its other strategic initiatives. Zaid mentioned that the company "launched a new artificial intelligence model to improve the safety and economics of our marketplace, deployed a powerful new global app that unifies and enables seamless trip coordination across the U.S. and Europe, and expanded to gig carsharing." Getaround's adoption of gig carsharing has enabled numerous gig workers to rent vehicles for services like Uber and DoorDash across the United States.

Despite last quarter's reported 42% revenue jump year-over-year, Getaround has continued to bear the weight of significant losses, with a staggering $27.3 million net loss observed in the same quarter, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Amidst a sea of tech company layoffs this year, which have swept through firms from DocuSign to Google, Getaround's recent cuts add to the industry's growing list of attempts to streamline operations and stabilize their balance sheets.