Update 2: Despite the best attempts of Hailo Toronto to continue operating through a licensing agreement with its parent company, it will be shutting down. The news comes in a follow up Tech Crunch article where the publication says, “a representative for Hailo says the company is shutting down all markets completely, and won’t be striking a licensing deal in Toronto.”
Update 1: According to a new TechCrunch article, Hailo Toronto is in the process of finding a way to continue operation by working out a licensing agreement with its parent company. The company’s Justin Raymond told TechCrunch’s Toronto-based writer Darrell Etherington that “As it stands, the Toronto team definitely wants it to continue, and we’re committed to that… there just need to be some details worked out with the Hailo parent company to keep it alive and make it thrive in Toronto as it has been.”
Fingers crossed that the two entities can get something sorted out.
On-demand taxi brokerage Hailo is said to be leaving the Toronto market. The move comes as a part of a larger exit out of the entire North America market.
The news broke through an interview the company’s CEO Tom Barr did today with the Financial Times (the article is behind a paywall). He told the publication that the company’s North American service offerings have had difficulty turning a profit—despite encouraging growth in those same markets. He says that Hailo plans to cut its loses and instead focus on in its strongholds in Europe and Asia.
Barr blamed stiff competition from Uber and Lyft as a major reason for the company’s struggles in North America.
Unfortunately, the company’s North American staff, including those in its Toronto office, are “likely” to lose their jobs according to the Financial Times.
We’ll update this article as we find out more. [Via The Next Web]
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Igor Bonifacic is the managing editor of Toronto Standard. Follow him on Twitter.
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