Ford's e-scooter company is rolling out to any city that doesn't limit competition

Ford-owned e-scooter company Spin on Friday announced a major restructuring where it will exit "virtually all open permit markets." More specifically, Spin is starting to roll out to "some" US markets, Germany and Portugal, and it's closing "projects" in Spain by February.

Going forward, Spin says it will focus on "limited seller markets," where only a specified number of scooter companies are allowed to compete in one location in the US, Canada and the UK. According to Spin CEO Ben Byers, Spin sees "doubling revenue per vehicle" in limited vendor markets.

“This decision to reorganize affects about a quarter of our employees,” Bear said, which means they will be laid off. Bear said Spin will offer "affected employees" a severance package with "an additional stipend that can be allocated for outplacement services." He said that the employees who have been issued laptops of the company will be allowed to keep them.

Bear complained about the "open permit market," which allows many scooter companies to operate in the market. They clearly proved to be a tough competition for spin. Bear added that market dynamics "make it difficult to identify a clear path to profit."

Spin was acquired by Ford in 2018. The company announced an aggressive expansion plan in 2019 and expanded into Europe in 2020. After Friday's announcement, however, it looks like the company is turning its attention to the immediate future.