Uber is laying off 23% of its staff from human resources and recruitment teams as part of a broader restructuring effort led by new president Jill Hazelbaker. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the changes are needed to improve the effectiveness of the department and support the company's future goals, CNBC reported.
Amid growing speculations, Uber also clarified that the job cuts are not related to artificial intelligence. This comes as many US tech giants are increasingly restructuring their work force to integrate AI for higher efficiency.
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“These changes are necessary to maximise the effectiveness of the People team and the enormous potential ahead of us,” Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi said in a separate memo to leaders at the company.
In a note to affected teams, Hazelbaker, who was promoted to president and chief corporate affairs officer last month, said the layoffs aim to build a “more connected, modern, operationally excellent organisation.”
How Much Work Force Will Be Affected?
The layoffs mainly affect Uber's recruitment and human resources teams. While the company did not reveal the exact number of jobs being cut, a spokesperson told CNBC that the reductions represent under 1% of its 34,000 employees.
Uber's approximately 10 million drivers are mostly classified separately as independent contractors.
On the move, Uber said that some parts of the people division had become overly complex, with overlapping roles and unclear responsibilities, Bloomberg reported.
Uber is also requiring HR employees who were previously approved for remote work to return to the office under its three-day-a-week attendance policy introduced last June.
The latest restructuring follows earlier job cuts in 2023, when the company reduced roles in its recruiting division. Those layoffs also impacted Cornershop, Uber's online grocery business.
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Details about severance pay and other continued benefits for affected employees remain unclear.
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