Uber to Cut 10% of Workforce in Biggest Layoffs Since Covid

Uber is cutting about 3,300 jobs, or 10% of its workforce, in the company’s biggest reduction since the Covid-19 pandemic. The move reflects a business trying to prepare for robotaxis while trimming a management structure built during years of rapid growth.

Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi said the layoffs would flatten management layers and reduce organizational complexity. “A leaner organization will mean clearer ownership, faster decisions, and more time spent building rather than coordinating,” he wrote in a note to employees. He said the savings would support growth, innovation and other capabilities the company expects to need in coming years.

Unlike several technology executives, Khosrowshahi did not attribute the cuts to artificial intelligence. Technology-driven efficiency efforts have contributed to widespread layoffs across the industry this year, with tracking site layoffs.fyi reporting more than 123,000 cuts at nearly 390 companies.

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A leaner organization will mean clearer ownership, faster decisions, and more time spent building rather than coordinating. It will also generate savings that we intend to reinvest in growth, innovation, and the capabilities that will matter most over the coming years.

Uber’s shares rose nearly 2%, although the stock has fallen almost 8% this year and has lagged the S&P 500 and rival Lyft. DoorDash, Instacart and local delivery companies have also increased pressure on Uber Eats. Uber has sought greater scale through transactions including its planned $14.8 billion acquisition of Delivery Hero.

Robotaxis pose a broader challenge to Uber’s role as an intermediary between drivers and passengers. Waymo operates autonomous cars through Uber’s app in Austin and Atlanta, but has also expanded into markets without Uber. Tesla and other competitors are increasing their focus on driverless vehicles. Uber plans to invest more than $10 billion in robotaxis in the coming years and position itself as a marketplace for autonomous rides.

The restructuring will reduce by 20% the number of employees seven or more reporting levels below the CEO and nearly halve the number of teams with only one or two direct reports. Uber will combine some teams, concentrate staff around key hubs and limit fully remote positions to about 1% of employees while keeping its three-day office policy. The cuts are the company’s largest since May 2020, when it eliminated 6,700 jobs after demand collapsed during the pandemic.

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As AV tech and relationships grow and expand, there is a different type of employee needed to scale that business than one built around human drivers and all the cost to serve entailed with that, including management layers.