News
SWVL Plans To Lay Off Around 400 Employees
The announcement of the layoff didn’t mention how the decision would affect SWVL’s planned expansion to Colombia, Mexico, South Africa, and the United States.
SWVL, a Dubai-based provider of technology-enabled mass transit solutions, has announced its plan to lay off 32 percent of its workforce (around 400 employees) to better cope with the new economic reality the company has found itself in over the past several weeks.
Since SWVL listed its shares this March on the Nasdaq through a merger with women-led blank check company Queen’s Gambit Growth Capital, its valuation has dropped from $1.5 billion to $500-$600 million.
SWVL is just another name on the growing list of companies that have been negatively affected by the current global economic downturn. Even though the company hopes to become profitable again next year, it sees the layoff as the only way forward.
“Over the past few weeks, Swvl has been hit like others across the globe with changes to its financial realities. While change is often unexpected, we believe that any attempt to resist it instead of adapting to it will prove futile,” says SWVL CEO Mostafa Kandil. “Today, with the current global economic downturn, as much as we did everything we could to put people first, we now know that we are not able to keep everyone unimpacted.”
Despite the major setback, SWVL is determined to keep developing its proprietary technology stack and building on its recent acquisitions, which include TaaS and SaaS businesses Argentina’s Viapool, Turkey’s Volt Lines, Spain’s Shotl, and Germany’s door2door.
Also Read: How To Find Remote-Only Tech Jobs In 2023
The announcement of the layoff didn’t mention how the decision would affect SWVL’s planned expansion to Colombia, Mexico, South Africa, and the United States. Currently, SWVL operates in Argentina, Egypt, Germany, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and the UAE.
Other technology-enabled companies that have recently announced layoffs include online payment and checkout platform Bolt, German on-demand grocery delivery company Gorillas, and Swedish fintech provider of online financial services Klarna.
News
NASA Forms New Partnership With Saudi Space Agency
The pair will collaborate on the Center for Space Futures, advancing space tech by bringing together public and private stakeholders.
Saudi Arabia’s space industry is on the brink of substantial expansion after generating $400 million in revenue in 2022, according to a report by the Saudi Communications, Space and Technology Commission.
Now, in a new venture with NASA, plans for a “Center for Space Futures” are set to further drive the Kingdom’s aspirations of becoming a leading player in space exploration and technology.
Capturing moments from the joint delegation visit with leaders from the Saudi and American Space Agencies @NASA to @PSU_RUH, along with scenes showcasing the audience's engagement. pic.twitter.com/oB1cFTiRNl
— وكالة الفضاء السعودية (@saudispace) May 14, 2024
The partnership between NASA and Saudi Arabia goes beyond economic advantages. The pair have already cooperated on preliminary work for the Artemis II lunar mission, which is slated for a September 2025 launch and aims to land astronauts near the moon’s South Pole.
Also Read: Plans Underway For Massive Middle East Autonomous Freight Network
During a visit to the capital, Riyadh, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson emphasized in a TV interview the broader objectives of the collaboration, which encompass “returning to the moon and then [to] Mars” while utilizing space exploration to glean important insights into climate change. The NASA spokesman also reiterated the space agency’s dedication to collaborating with Saudi Arabia on other future ventures.
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