Chicago tech company SpotHero, which simplifies finding parking spots in urban areas, laid off a number of employees on Tuesday, citing a drop in business due to coronavirus.
SpotHero confirmed the layoffs to Chicago Inno but declined to disclose how many employees were affected. As of March 12, SpotHero employed 217 people, according to Jen Holmes, SpotHero’s director of communications.
“In response to COVID-19’s impact on our businesses, SpotHero recently made the deeply emotional and difficult decision to lay off multiple talented, hardworking team members,” Holmes said in a statement. “The decision was made to ensure the company’s ability to weather the storm and to be in a position to serve our customers when they are able to leave their homes and start driving again.”
SpotHero, founded in 2011, built an app to help users find on-demand parking in dense areas, offering drivers access to 7,000 off-street parking locations in 300 cities.
Last year, the startup raised $50 million in a round led by Macquarie Capital, an Australia-based investment bank, bringing its total funding to more than $117 million. At the time, SpotHero said its all-time sales reached more than $500 million, and that it was on pace to reach $1 billion in all-time transactions by 2020.
But due to the impact coronavirus has had on the country’s commuting patterns, parking demand has dropped significantly. Earlier this week, the startup published data on its website that showed the parking industry in general, much like the airline industry, has seen parking volume losses up to 90 percent. Many cities and states are now practicing self-isolation and social distancing, meaning people are not leaving their homes as often or needing to find parking as frequently.
SpotHero is led by its two co-founders, Mark Lawrence, CEO, and Larry Kiss, chief technology officer.
