John McNeill, Lyft’s chief operating officer, is leaving the ride-hailing company, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Lyft said it would not hire a replacement. Shares in the company dropped 3.9 percent on the news – the biggest intraday drop for the company in a month.
Before McNeill came to Lyft, he worked with Elon Musk at Tesla, serving as president of global sales and service. He was there for about two years.
Lyft co-founders said in an email to employees that McNeill’s job responsibilities will be assigned to other workers. They gave credit to McNeill for new Lyft initiatives like starting car repair shops for drivers. “As JMac moves on to his next chapter, we wish him the very best,” they wrote.
The founders of the company have had trouble keeping the COO job filled. The previous COO, former Amazon executive Rex Tibbens, was in the role for less than three years. McNeill was praised for his experience when he was hired in February of last year.
Lyft went public in March. On average, the stock is valued around 10 percent less than its initial public offering (IPO) price. Uber also recently went public, and many analysts are questioning whether the ride-hailing business is a losing venture.
Lyft has had its share of other problems along the way. In May, investors filed a class-action lawsuit against the company. Investors say Lyft misled them in its IPO. The suit, filed May 17 by Boston-based law firm Block & Leviton in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California, contends Lyft committed securities fraud. In addition to Lyft, underwriters, directors and executives, including CEO Logan Green, President John Zimmer and CFO Brian Roberts, were named in the suit, reported CNBC.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More