Transportation technology provider Moovel said Tuesday it will lay off a third of its Portland employees as part of a broader restructuring.

The company, owned by German multinational Daimler AG, said it is repositioning its business to focus on its core services and “a more sustainable operating profile.”

In Portland, Moovel supports TriMet’s Hop Fastpass mobile ticketing app. It previously created TriMet’s original mobile ticketing app, which the transit system shut down last year.

Moovel will reduce its Portland office from 114 employees to 75 in the next month. It said cuts are taking place in research, marketing, engineering and product development.

“Our primary objective is to continue to support the riders of public transit with the agencies we currently serve,” Moovel said in a written statement. The company said it intends to stay in its historic office in Portland’s Old Town, but will seek additional tenants for the space.

Moovel’s roots date to a Portland transportation technology startup, GlobeSherpa, which Daimler acquired in 2015. Daimler paired GlobeSherpa with a Texas company, RideScout, then shifted RideScout’s operations from Austin to Portland.

Then, in 2010, Daimler combined its Car2Go and Moovel services with BMW’s ReachNow. The ReachNow car sharing service shut down its Portland operations last summer and Car2Go shuttered its Portland operation shortly afterward.

Moovel’s successive acquisitions and retrenchments reflect the fluid nature of transportation technology, which is trying to establish its footing in an American market still dominated by single-occupancy vehicles.

Now, Moovel said it will focus on supporting existing public transportation systems.

“Today’s decision was incredibly difficult,” Jose Valera, CEO of Moovel North America, said in a written statement. “We’ve had to balance investments in innovation and growth for scale within a complex and rapidly evolving industry.”

-- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699

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