SWVL Plans to Layoff 32% of Staff- Bloomberg

Dubai-based Swvl Holdings Corp. plans to cut staff by 32% as part of efforts to turn cash flow positive by next year, according to Bloomberg.

The company said in a statement on Monday, that the cuts will focus on jobs that were completed through investments in engineering, product and support functions. It was not immediately clear how many jobs would be affected, but the company said it would help some employees transition to new positions.

Swvl said that so-called transport-as-a-service (TaaS) and software-as-a-service (SaaS) "are growing rapidly" thanks to recent acquisitions, and the company plans to continue growing this business. It also plans to continue investing in the development of its technology suite.

Swvl has announced a series of deals over the past few months, including its fourth Volt Lines acquisition since August. It bought Berlin-based mobility startup door2door in March, mass transit company Via Paul in November, and Shuttle, an on-demand transport service that uses buses, in August.

It is worth noting that Egyptian Mostafa Kandil, the former CEO of Rocket Internet SE, co-founded Swvl and who also worked with Careem, now owned by Uber Technologies. The company debuted on the Nasdaq stock market on April 1 after merging with blank check company Queens Gambit Growth Capital.

Swvl's shares have more than halved since that incorporation, valuing the company at $581 million.