Uber is cutting 23% of roles in its people and places division
President Jill Hazelbaker says will create a more connected, modern and operationally excellent organisation.
The layoffs affect well under 1% of Uber’s 34,000 staff
The measures are not driven by AI, even as the company leans heavily on AI tools and tightens its budget for agentic coding software.
Uber Slashes 23% of People Team, President Says Less Than 1% of Staff Affected
Layoffs account for under 1% of its total workforce of 34,000 employees
Uber Cuts 23% of People Division, Joins the Wave of Corporate Layoffs Uber
Summary
Advertisement
Uber is reportedly slashing 23% roles in its people and places division in efforts to streamline the operations under the direction of the newly promoted president, Jill Hazelbaker.
While the number of employees affected is not disclosed, a company spokesperson, in a note to CNBC, revealed that the layoff accounts for "well under 1%" of its total workforce of 34,000 employees.
Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, told the news publication that the "changes are necessary to maximise the effectiveness of the people team and the enormous potential ahead of us."
In a note to the affected employees, Hazelbaker explained the layoffs aim to build a "more connected, modern, operationally excellent organisation." She said that some segments have become "complex and fragmented, with overlapping responsibilities, unclear ownership, and teams operating too far from businesses and partners they support."
Advertisement
Bloomberg was the first to disclose the news.
With this round of layoffs, Uber joins the list of companies laying off employees. While many firms cite artificial intelligence as the reason for workforce reduction, the ride-hailing giant confirmed that the cuts are not driven by AI.
Uber's AI Dependence
The company rely significantly on AI tools for coding changes and backend updates. During the first-quarter earnings call of 2026, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi revealed that around 10% of the company's code is now written and submitted by AI agents, while Neppali, in an X (formerly Twitter) post, revealed that 95% of its engineers use AI tools every month.
This week, Uber imposed a cap of $1,500 per month on token spending for agentic coding software such as Cursor and Anthropic's Claude Code, after burning through its full-year AI budget in just four months.
Company CTO Praveen Neppali Naga told The Information last month that the company was "back to the drawing board" after exhausting its full-year AI budget following an increase in AI-powered coding tools, particularly Claude Code.
Advertisement
The company has also partnered with NVIDIA in March to introduce robotaxis powered by advanced autonomous driving software. This service will first be launched in Los Angeles and San Francisco in 2027, before scaling operations to 28 other cities worldwide by 2028.