Uber is laying off roughly 10 percent of its work force, totaling about 3,300 people, as the ride-hailing company restructures to become “simpler and faster,” Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi said on Wednesday.
The layoffs are set to affect 20 percent of rank-and-file employees who are seven or more layers below Mr. Khosrowshahi, he said. He added that Uber would increase the number of employees under each manager by cutting the teams that have only one to two workers by half, which would flatten the company.
“A leaner organization will mean clearer ownership, faster decisions and more time spent building rather than coordinating,” Mr. Khosrowshahi said in a message to employees. “It will also generate savings that we intend to reinvest in growth, innovation and the capabilities that will matter most over the coming years.”
He said that Uber’s revenue has nearly tripled over the past five years, but rapid growth has introduced “more layers, more coordination and more fragmented ownership.”
Tech companies including Meta, Coinbase and Block have laid off hundreds to thousands of employees this year. Many have cited artificial intelligence as a reason for the reductions, though analysts and economists have said the technology may have offered a smoke screen for those looking to beef up profits or patch over old mistakes.
Mr. Khosrowshahi did not blame A.I. for the layoffs. Uber has been expanding into autonomous rides in places like London, and has said that it wants to build the world’s largest platform for self-driving vehicles.
In Wednesday’s announcement, Uber said that it would also consolidate its delivery operations and some engineering and science teams.
The company plans to concentrate global teams in New York and San Francisco, with regional and local teams in other hubs. Mr. Khosrowshahi said most remote workers are being asked to relocate to an office, leaving 1 percent of employees fully remote, while the company reinforces its three-days-a-week hybrid policy.
Uber said it did not have additional comment beyond Mr. Khosrowshahi’s remarks.
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