Lime CEO Brad Bao. Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Web Summit via Sportsfile, under Creative Commons license

Scooter sharing service Lime is considering layoffs of between 50 to 70 persons amid a slowdown in sales from the coronavirus outbreak, according to a Bloomberg report. The considered layoffs are said to mainly involve persons working at its San Francisco headquarters. According to Bloomberg, Lime, which has raised $765 million in total funding, had about $50 million of cash left as at recently as January albeit a monthly burn rate of $22.5 million. Bloomberg reports the company is estimated to have about 12 weeks of runway left when factoring revenue generation for the year to date.

Lime CEO Brad Bao has already said the company will begin winding down and pausing its scooter sharing service in more than 20 countries as the number of scooter rides drop due to movement restrictions stemming from the coronavirus outbreak. Just like other companies whose business mainly lies in day-to-day movement, Lime has surely seen a revenue hit stemming from the coronavirus outbreak. Companies of its kind may have to enact austerity measures or seek further funding to stay afloat.

Lime is surely not the only well-known tech company that’s facing monetary difficulties amid the outbreak. The likes of Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, and Getaround, whose business center on transportation and travel activities have also taken a hit, with Getaround even said to be ‘actively’ seeking a sale amid a cash crunch. Likewise, Airbnb is said to be considering seeking additional funding to avert losses resulting from a slowdown in bookings on its platform. Uber has also said rides are down by as much as 70% in cities hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak.

Bloomberg, citing internal documents it viewed, said Lime’s daily rides were down from about 147,000 on the 14th of March to about 52,000 three days later. During that time, Bloomberg also reports Lime’s Paris rides were down 98% to just over 300, making it even smaller than other less popular locations. Such a situation surely doesn’t come out good for Lime, which Bloomberg reports had its daily global gross revenue plunge from about $617,000 to around $193,000.