As online used-motorcycle retailer RumbleOn grows, the car company upon which it was modeled — called Vroom — is faltering.
On-demand car marketplace Vroom laid off an undisclosed portion of its staff earlier this month, a company spokesperson confirmed to Powersports Finance.
The news comes on the heels of growth at online used-motorcycle retailer RumbleOn, which was established by Vroom founder Marshall Chesrown.
Several former Vroom executives have departed the company over the last year and a half to join RumbleOn, according to executive profiles on LinkedIn.
RumbleOn secured a $25 million floorplan line of credit from Ally Bank last month and partnered with MotoLease LLC in December 2017.
However, the changes at Vroom do not have any connection to Chesrown or other executives departing the company, according to the spokesperson.
Chesrown founded Vroom back in 2014 and is now taking that same technology and applying it to motorcycles. Consumers can browse used motorcycles online and purchase or finance the bikes with a transparent price. Chesrown declined to comment for this story.
The Vroom spokesperson did not specify the number of layoffs or locations, but a TechCrunch report estimates as much as 50% of Vroom’s workforce has been laid off.
“In sharpening our focus on profitability, we recently made some adjustments to our strategy that has impacted our headcount,” Vroom said in a statement. “While decisions like this are never easy, we are putting the company in a better position to become the leader in online car buying and continue to invest in future areas of growth.”
Vroom is said to have closed two major locations in Dallas and Whitestown, Ind., and cut around one-fourth of its staff at its headquarters in New York City and Stafford, Texas, according to TechCrunch.
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