Unused electric-powered Lime scooters piled high in a warehouse in Melbourne are bound for Asia, as the US company behind them scales back its local operations due to delays in law changes.

Thirty jobs have been lost at Lime's local arm in the past twelve months, with about 3000 plastic-wrapped scooters sitting idle on pallets.

Brisbane was the first city in Australia to introduce e-scooters in November 2018 and Adelaide trialled them last year.

Unused Lime Scooters in a warehouse in Melbourne.

However, the scooters have so far been absent from Melbourne due to road rules prohibiting their use.