Uber To Cut 3,300 Jobs Amid Push For Leaner Operations

Uber Technologies is cutting around 3,300 jobs globally as the ride-hailing company moves to simplify its organisation and redirect spending towards growth areas, according to a Bloomberg report.

The cuts represent about 10% of Uber’s workforce and will reduce the number of managers at the company by 20%. Some managers will move into individual contributor roles, while the layoffs will also affect non-managerial employees, according to a company spokesperson cited by the news agency.

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in an email obtained by Bloomberg News that Uber’s expansion had created additional management layers, coordination requirements and fragmented responsibilities. The restructuring is intended to make the company’s operations “simpler and faster”, he said.

Uber To Merge Teams, Reduce Management Layers

As part of the restructuring, Uber plans to reduce nearly half of its teams that currently have only one or two employees. It will also reduce the number of employees positioned more than seven layers below the CEO.

The company is streamlining its engineering, science and delivery operations. Its three teams handling restaurants, retail and white-label delivery services will also be combined, the news agency reported.

Uber is also tightening its office policy. Going forward, only about 1% of its employees will be allowed to work remotely, as the company pushes more staff towards working from key office locations.

Savings To Fund Growth, Robotaxi Push

Khosrowshahi said the restructuring would generate savings that Uber plans to put back into growth and innovation. The company intends to increase investments in drivers, couriers and merchants, while also upgrading its existing businesses.

A major focus is Uber’s autonomous vehicle strategy. The company has committed more than $10 billion to robotaxi partnerships in the coming years as it seeks to become a leading platform for autonomous vehicle rides.

The latest layoffs follow more targeted workforce reductions in Uber’s customer service and human resources divisions earlier this year. The company had said in May that it would slow its hiring pace.

Unlike several large technology companies, Uber had largely avoided major workforce reductions since the Covid-19 pandemic. The latest cuts will bring its employee count to just under 30,000, roughly the level seen in 2021. While Khosrowshahi did not specifically mention AI in his announcement, Bloomberg reported that greater use of the technology in Uber’s operations is also influencing the restructuring.