Bolt Nigeria, a leading technology-driven ride-hailing platform, has clarified recent reports regarding its restructuring efforts, stating that 22 employees were affected by the changes.
The firm’s Communications Manager, Femi Adeyemo, confirmed the restructuring and subsequent staff reduction, emphasizing that Bolt Nigeria is not facing financial difficulties but is instead undergoing a strategic realignment.
Adeyemo clarified, “22 people out of 45 from a department were relieved of their jobs, not nearly half as claimed by some reports. The department where it happened has 45 workers, not the whole Bolt. That number is not half of the workforce of Bolt.”
He further assured that the affected employees would receive comprehensive severance packages to support their transition to new career opportunities.
In a statement shared by the e-hailing firm, Bolt emphasized its commitment to Nigeria and its investment in the African market.
The statement read, “Bolt has never done and is not doing any layoffs, which implies massively downsizing the team because the company is struggling financially. We have made the difficult decision to discontinue collaboration with 22 employees in Nigeria.
“This decision comes as we have been going through the process of restructuring a considerable number of customer support and operational processes in the country. We have offered the people who will be leaving us severance packages that will support their transition to new career opportunities.
“This decision does not affect the quality of our products for riders and drivers. We see great potential in Nigeria, and we will stand by our investment commitments in all our African markets.”
Bolt, formerly known as Taxify, entered the Nigerian market in 2016 and has since expanded its operations to over 45 countries and 500 cities, serving more than 150 million customers.
The company highlighted its network of over 3.5 million partners, including drivers and couriers, with over one million partners based in Africa alone.