Voi applies for government assistance to furlough staff

Voi is committed to building a new way of moving people around the cities we love in Europe but we are facing a global crisis that requires us to make some difficult decisions urgently. Since governments introduced restrictions on people’s movement we have seen an immediate and substantial impact on revenue generation. As this crisis has unfolded, we have been looking at ways to adapt our business strategy, within various scenarios, so that as far as possible we can preserve the company, weather this storm and emerge as a viable business at the end of it.

Following our latest fundraising last November, we have a solid financial foundation long into 2021. However, we must take steps to preserve that position, so that when the time is right we can put our e-scooters back on the streets of Europe’s cities.

In the last few weeks we have paused operations in most of our cities, with the exception of our Nordic capitals and Gothenburg. We have already scaled back costs across our markets and are applying for government support packages in all countries where we operate, in order for us to be able to return to being a healthy company. The executive management team have agreed to a significant salary reduction, to do everything we can to save our company.

Each and every person in our Voi family has contributed to making the company the European success that it has quickly become. However, we must make difficult decisions and some of our colleagues will have to leave. Most employees currently on probation, fixed-term contracts and consultant agreements will be ended. Regrettably, we will also have to give notice (in the Swedish context of “varsel”) to some permanent positions in Sweden.

All those that are affected by the above have been informed earlier today and we will do everything we can to help them to find new jobs at other companies. The teams that are affected are:

• Finance

• Engineering

• Design

• Commercial

• Operations

• Human Resources / Recruitment / Office Management

Our employees are our most important asset and we are committed to the growth of our employees, current future and former. This is why we have put in place our “Always a Voiager” programme that actively connects and recommends former employees with other companies who are hiring.

The drastic measures taken over the last couple of weeks provides us with a cash runway that stretches into 2021. This will put us in a very strong position when things get back to normal, for the rest of the year and beyond.

We are confident that once travel and lockdown restrictions in Europe are lifted we can kick start our operations again and be able to provide a service that can meet high demand in city centres. More than ever before, cities will need to consider their infrastructure and public transport companies will need to be even more flexible and open to partnering with mobility partners and new types of transport providers, including Voi.

We expect demand to pick up again, once the crisis is over, and we anticipate that people will want to see a wider range of transport options in cities, particularly in ways that help users to avoid crowded spaces.