Uber is cutting about 3,300 jobs, roughly 10% of its global workforce, in a major restructuring aimed at simplifying the company’s organization and freeing resources for investment in autonomous vehicles, the ride-hailing company announced on September 2.
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the cuts would reduce organizational complexity that had slowed decision-making and created roles focused solely on coordination. The restructuring will eliminate management layers and consolidate teams, with the company reducing the number of employees positioned seven or more reporting layers below the CEO by 20% and cutting the number of “micro-teams”—those with only one or two direct reports—by nearly half.
Uber’s stock jumped 2.4% in premarket trading following the announcement, according to multiple financial outlets, a rare positive market reaction to a major layoff announcement. The company’s share price had fallen nearly 8% through 2026 amid investor concerns about competition from autonomous vehicle operators like Alphabet’s Waymo and challenges in its food delivery business.
The restructuring also includes requiring most remote workers to return to offices, with Uber limiting fully remote roles to about 1% of its workforce and reinforcing its hybrid work policy requiring three days in the office per week. The company will concentrate global teams around key hubs in New York and San Francisco.
The job cuts represent Uber’s largest workforce reduction since May 2020, when the company eliminated about 6,700 positions—nearly a quarter of its workforce at that time—as pandemic restrictions crushed demand for ride-hailing. Unlike several tech executives who have blamed recent layoffs on artificial intelligence, Khosrowshahi did not attribute the cuts to AI adoption.
The restructuring comes as Uber has pledged to spend more than $10 billion expanding its robotaxi network through partnerships with vehicle manufacturers and autonomous driving companies. The company is racing against Waymo and Tesla to launch commercial robotaxi services in major markets, with plans to operate robotaxi services in at least 15 cities this year.
Khosrowshahi told staff in an internal message that “the changes we’re making today are designed to do two things: make Uber simpler and faster, and create more capacity to invest in our future.” The company has also been integrating Delivery Hero, a Berlin-based food delivery group it acquired in July for €13 billion, adding another operational focus that the restructuring aims to streamline.
Sources
- Reuters — confirmed 3,300 job cuts (10% of ~34,000 workforce), management layer reductions, and CEO Khosrowshahi’s statement on organizational complexity
- Financial Times — reported stock rose 2% in premarket trading, CEO’s internal message, robotaxi investment plans, and food delivery market challenges
- Bloomberg — first reported the restructuring announcement and job cut figures
- Hindustan Times — confirmed stock rose 2.4% following the announcement
