On the Dash:
- Uber is cutting about 3,300 jobs, roughly 10% of its global workforce.
- The restructuring removes management layers and merges delivery teams worldwide.
- Savings will help fund Uber’s $10 billion-plus commitment to autonomous vehicles.
Uber will cut about 3,300 jobs, roughly 10% of its workforce, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said Wednesday. The reduction is the company’s largest since May 2020, when the pandemic cost 6,700 employees their jobs.
While the company is still growing, with second-quarter revenue up 12% to $14.2 billion, the cuts reflect how Uber is built and where it plans to spend next. The plan was shared in a message to employees published on Uber’s newsroom site. Everyone affected has been notified, except in countries with required local processes, according to the memo.
Fewer layers, fewer managers
Uber cut the number of employees sitting seven or more layers below the CEO by 20%. It also cut the number of teams with only one or two direct reports by nearly half.
Delivery sees the biggest change, with three teams covering restaurants, retail, and direct delivery merging into single teams at the global, regional, and country levels. In technology, Uber is combining its Core Services Engineering and Science groups.
Location is changing too. Global teams will concentrate in New York and San Francisco. Only about 1% of employees will stay fully remote, and the three-day office rule stands. “I realize this is a lot of change, but we decided it was better to make one big shift rather than multiple small ones,” Khosrowshahi said in the company’s statement.
Where the money is going
Since Uber has committed more than $10 billion over the coming years to autonomous vehicles, the money covers robotaxi fleets and equity stakes in self-driving developers. However, the company wants to be the app where driverless rides get sold. For example, Waymo vehicles already run through the Uber app in Atlanta and Austin. Notably, Uber handles charging, cleaning and inspections for those vehicles in both markets.
On the other hand, Waymo has opened service in other cities without Uber. Tesla and other developers are scaling fleets that could reach riders directly.
Uber shares are down about 8% this year, trailing both the S&P 500 and rival Lyft. Khosrowshahi did not blame artificial intelligence for the cuts, though Uber is absorbing rising AI costs. Employees used up the company’s entire 2026 AI budget in four months, according to Reuters.
