Flightless Bird: E-Scooter Company Bird Declares Bankruptcy

Electric scooter company Bird is flying south for the winter, and it might be a very different kind of fowl by the time it returns. The Miami, Florida-based micro-mobility company known for allowing rambunctious, helmetless e-scooterists to fly down city streets declared bankruptcy Wednesday, saying it was entering into a process of “financial restructuring” while still keeping its bikes and other scooters operational for now.

The company declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy, often called “reorganization” bankruptcy, where it also plans to sell some of its existing assets to its existing lenders. The company was quick to mention it would be “maintaining the same service for its riders and upholding its commitments to partner cities,” meaning you’ll still likely see scooterists zipping around Miami and a few New York City boroughs, as well as Springfield, Missouri and the greater Toronto, Canada area.

Bird currently operates in many more cities in Europe and in Australia, though the company’s Asian and European contingents aren’t part of the U.S. bankruptcy proceedings. The company used to operate in many more U.S. urban centers, including San Francisco, but it cut its losses in that city last year. The once-massive e-scooter startup ripped its scooters out of Germany, Sweden, and Norway in 2022.

In the release, interim CEO Michael Washinushi claimed the company still looks to “make cities more livable by using micro-mobility to reduce car usage, traffic, and carbon emissions.” Washinushi took over from the previous CEO, Shane Torchiana, earlier this year. Shortly after, the company was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange after going public in 2021.

This is the same company that claimed it accidentally over-reported its revenue for nearly two years. Last year was particularly hard for Bird with more layoffs, as it tried to shake down past users for fare debts, some as small as $0.55 and $0.62.

The company was once heralded by Time magazine as one of the top 50 “Genius Companies” back in 2018 and was a top startup valued at $2 billion thanks to big-name investment. Just a year later, Bird was announcing layoffs. Now Amazon has a $4.8 million claim on the company for use of its Amazon Web Services client, according to bankruptcy documents.

The company also owes millions on its lease for its Denver, Colorado office space and more to other vendors. Bird claimed on its Chapter 11 forms it has between $100 million and $500 million in assets and within the same range of liabilities.

The problem with these dockless e-scooter rental companies is that while they promised to revolutionize the “last mile” commute with a sustainable, electric option, they also proved to be a nuisance in many cities, with bikes and scooters left around wantonly on streets and sidewalks. They have also led to injuries and some deaths, leading to Paris, France, banning rental electric scooters entirely earlier this year.