Uber to Cut 3,300 Employees in Largest Workforce Reduction Since Pandemic

Uber is laying off approximately 3,300 employees, which represents 10 percent of its global workforce. This move marks the company's largest personnel cut since May 2020, when it reduced its staff by nearly 25 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi announced the decision in an email to staff, stating that the goal is to make the company simpler and faster by reducing management layers by 20 percent.

The company plans to redirect the savings from these cuts toward growth and innovation, specifically focusing on its rides, delivery, and autonomous taxi divisions. Uber faces increasing competition in the United States from robotaxi services such as Waymo and Tesla. Additionally, the company is navigating challenges in its food delivery business, where it holds a 34 percent market share in the U.S. compared to DoorDash's 64 percent.

As part of the restructuring, Uber is merging its engineering, science, and delivery divisions. The company is also tightening its remote work policy. Only about 1 percent of the workforce will be permitted to work fully remotely, while most other employees must adhere to a hybrid schedule requiring three days of office attendance per week.

While some analysts suggest that AI-driven efficiencies enabled these cuts, Khosrowshahi did not explicitly cite artificial intelligence as a reason for the layoffs. Reports indicate that the company may have exhausted its 2026 token budget within four months.