Uber confirmed the layoff of 3,300 employees from its corporate workforce, equivalent to about 10% of that labor force. It is the company’s biggest cut since the pandemic and does not depend on seniority, performance or each worker’s employment status: it affects personnel from different areas and levels equally.
The announcement was made by CEO Dara Khosrowshahi in an internal communication to employees, where he explained that the measure seeks to reduce the complexity of the organizational structure. The decision comes amid the growing competition the company faces in the delivery business and in the race for autonomous vehicles.
Why is Uber laying off 3,300 employees?
The restructuring is aimed mainly at managerial ranks: the company will reduce the number of managers at all levels by 20%, which means the elimination of hundreds of positions and the reassignment of other direct reports.
According to estimates by the consulting firm Citi, the measure would generate savings of close to US$825 million a year, funds that the company will use to finance its expansion in the robotaxi business, in which it has already committed an investment of more than US$10 billion.
The main changes Uber will implement
- 20% reduction in the number of managers
- Elimination of half of the one- or two-person “micro teams”
- Limiting remote work to just 1% of staff
- Strengthening the hybrid model of three in-person days per week
How does this measure affect Uber employees?
The cut comes in a context of greater work demands: the company asked most of its staff to return to working from the office and drastically limited exceptions for full remote telework.
Uber is also going through changes in its delivery business, where it has lost ground to DoorDash in the United States and is moving ahead with the integration of Delivery Hero after a 13 billion euro purchase agreement. The company, moreover, is looking for a new global head of the area.