Zipcar to close Boston headquarters

By Beth Treffeisen

February 2, 2026 | 1:02 PM

Zipcar’s parent company is shutting down the car-sharing service’s Seaport headquarters and laying off more than 100 employees as it consolidates corporate operations in New Jersey.

Avis Budget Group, in a statement to Boston.com on Monday, said the consolidation of Zipcar’s Boston office to its global headquarters is part of a larger effort to make Zipcar run more efficiently in the long term.

The consolidation, as noted in a notice filed with the state on Thursday, will result in 126 Zipcar employees being laid off, including 65 based in Boston and 61 remote workers nationwide. The employees will be laid off by April 1.

“We are committed to managing this transition responsibly and supporting our employees throughout the process,” the statement said.

Zipcar’s regional field and fleet operations will continue to be based in Boston and other local markets to support members and day-to-day service without disruption.

Robin Chase and Antje Danielson founded Zipcar in Cambridge in 2000 to bring the European car-sharing model to North America. Zipcar was among the first to adopt a subscription model for platform technology that provides access rather than ownership.

The announcement to close the Boston-based corporate office comes on the heels of Zipcar’s 25th-anniversary celebration this past June, with the city declaring June 16 to be “Zipcar Day,” coinciding with the day Zipcars first rolled into the city.