Dubai-based ride sharing firm Swvl to slash headcount by a third

Swvl Holdings Corp., a Dubai-based ride sharing firm, plans to reduce headcount by 32 per cent as part of efforts to turn cash flow positive by next year.

The reductions will focus on roles that have been automated by investments in engineering and product and support functions, the company said in a statement on Monday. It wasn’t immediately clear how many jobs would be affected, but Swvl said it will help some employees transition to new roles.

Swvl said its so-called Transport as a Service and Software as a Service businesses are “growing rapidly,” helped by recent acquisitions, and the company plans to continue growing these businesses. It also plans to continue investing in developing its proprietary technology stack.

Swvl has announced a spree of deals over the past few months, including Volt Lines – its fourth acquisition since August. It purchased Berlin-based mobility startup Door2door in March, mass transit company ViaPool in November, and Shotl, an on-demand ride service that uses shuttle buses, in August.

Swvl was co-founded by Mostafa Kandil, a former Rocket Internet executive who also worked with Careem, which is now owned by Uber Technologies. The ride-sharing firm made its debut on the Nasdaq Stock Market on April 1 after merging with blank-check company Queen’s Gambit Growth Capital.

Swvl’s shares have more than halved since that debut, valuing the company at $581m.