Uber Announces 3,300 Job Cuts Worldwide Amid Major Restructuring

Global ride-hailing company Uber Technologies has announced plans to cut approximately 3,300 jobs worldwide as part of a major organisational restructuring aimed at reducing management layers, streamlining operations and lowering costs.

According to reports, the planned workforce reduction represents about 10 per cent of Uber’s global employees.

Uber Chief Executive Officer, Dara Khosrowshahi, disclosed the development in a message to employees on Wednesday, September 2, explaining that the company’s rapid expansion over the past five years had resulted in a more complex organisational structure.

Khosrowshahi said the growth had created additional management layers, increased coordination requirements and resulted in fragmented ownership across some areas of the business.

He explained that the restructuring was designed to simplify the company’s operations and make responsibilities clearer across its various teams.

Uber said affected employees had been notified, except in countries where local employment procedures require additional steps before such decisions can be implemented. The company did not provide a breakdown of the number of jobs to be affected in individual countries.

As part of the restructuring, Uber said it had reduced by 20 per cent the number of employees positioned seven or more organisational layers below the chief executive.

The company also said it had reduced by nearly half the number of teams with only one or two direct reports.

Several business units are also being consolidated under the new structure. Uber said its three delivery operations covering restaurants, retail and direct delivery would be brought together, while its Core Services Engineering and Science teams would also be combined.

Khosrowshahi said the changes were expected to generate savings that would be redirected towards growth, innovation and other areas considered strategic priorities for the company.

The restructuring will also bring significant changes to Uber’s remote-working arrangements.

The company said most employees currently working remotely would be required to return to an office, leaving only about one per cent of its workforce fully remote.

Employees covered by Uber’s hybrid work arrangement will continue to be required to work from an office three days a week.

Uber further disclosed that its global teams would be concentrated primarily in New York and San Francisco, while regional, local and technology teams would operate from designated office hubs.

The latest measures mark a significant organisational shake-up for the company as it seeks to simplify its structure, reduce costs and focus resources on its key growth priorities.