Uber cuts 3,300 jobs, stricter return-to-office policy as it focuses on autonomous future
The company will reduce management roles by 20 per cent and expects most employees to work from designated offices as it streamlines operations
Ride-hailing app Uber has announced a 10 per cent cut to its global corporate workforce and stricter work-from-office rules, as the company moves to simplify its operations and prepare for a greater focus on its core business and autonomous future.
The announcement came in an internal memo from CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who said Uber would cut roughly 3,300 corporate jobs, reduce management roles by 20 per cent and dissolve nearly half of its “micro-teams” (small teams consisting of one or two members). The layoffs are among the company’s biggest rounds of job cuts since the pandemic.
‘Simpler and faster company’
Khosrowshahi said the restructuring was aimed at making Uber a “simpler and faster company”. While the company’s revenue had tripled over the past five years, the rapid growth had brought “too much complexity” and slowed decision-making, he said.
“Growth also brought complexity, more layers, more coordination, more fragmented ownership,” Khosrowshahi said, adding that Uber’s management structure had become too heavy.
Also read: Uber expands to 100 more Indian cities; total footprint reaches 225
As part of the restructuring, Uber is also bringing its food and retail delivery businesses together. The company is combining its three delivery operations: Restaurants, Retail and Direct Commerce into a single division.
According to Khosrowshahi’s memo, the strategy of running the different delivery segments as independent, startup-style units had worked well in their early stages but was no longer effective at global scale.
Focus on autonomous future
The restructuring is also part of Uber’s larger plan to invest more heavily in its core business and autonomous technology, including robotaxi projects.
Uber expects to commit more than $10 billion over the coming years to autonomous vehicles, including investments in autonomous vehicle companies, infrastructure and robotaxi fleets.
Also read: Samsung India layoffs: 80-100 executives asked to leave, says report
The job cuts affect corporate employees and do not include the drivers and couriers who work on Uber’s platform.
Stricter office rules
Alongside the layoffs, Uber is tightening its work-from-office policy. The company’s existing three-day-a-week hybrid policy remains in place, but compliance will be more strictly enforced. It is not moving to a mandatory five-day-a-week office policy.
Uber has also capped fully remote working at 1 per cent of its global workforce, with the majority of employees expected to work from designated offices.
Employees who currently work remotely and do not live near one of Uber’s designated hub cities will broadly be expected to relocate closer to an office or leave the company. Khosrowshahi defended the move, saying face-to-face interaction helped teams solve problems faster and that “the energy of our office cannot be replicated through screens.”
Also read: Meta announces 8,000 layoffs amid AI-led workforce restructuring
He added that the job of leadership was to do what was best for customers and shareholders.
Exit from two African markets
Uber is also shutting down its services in Nigeria and Uganda as part of the restructuring, saying the move would allow it to focus resources elsewhere. The company said the decision would not affect its other markets in Africa.
Uber’s revenue rose about 18 per cent year-on-year in 2025 to roughly $52 billion, with growth continuing, although at a slower pace, into 2026.