Uber layoffs: Company cuts 10% of customer service jobs as AI adoption grows
Uber has cut 10% of jobs in its customer service division and asked some remote staff to relocate to office hubs. The move marks the company's clearest link yet between AI adoption, organisational simplification and workforce changes.
Uber Technologies has cut 10% of jobs in its customer service division as the ride-hailing company expands its use of artificial intelligence (AI), simplifies operations and asks remote employees to relocate to office hubs, reported Bloomberg.
The layoffs affect employees in Uber's community operations team, which handles customer support for riders, drivers and delivery partners. The company said the move is part of a broader effort to simplify its organisation, strengthen in-person collaboration and make greater use of AI across its operations.
In addition to the job cuts, employees who had been working remotely have been asked to relocate to designated hub offices, in line with Uber's return-to-office policy.
WHY UBER IS CUTTING JOBS
According to the report, Uber believes its customer service organisation has become too complicated to fully benefit from AI.
In an internal memo to employees, Megha Yethatika, Uber's Vice President of Global Community Operations, said the organisation had become "too complex and siloed."
She said the company had already made progress in adopting AI but needed a simpler organisational structure to fully unlock its potential.
"We cannot scale frontier technology on top of fragmented processes," she wrote in the memo, according to Bloomberg.
The company has not disclosed how many employees work in its customer service operations, so the exact number of jobs affected is not known.
SECOND ROUND OF JOB CUTS IN TWO MONTHS
This is Uber's second round of workforce reductions in less than two months.
In June, the company cut 23% of its people division, which amounted to less than 1% of its global workforce of around 34,000 employees. Those layoffs came after a new head took charge of the department as Uber looked to simplify its organisational structure.
The latest move is also the first time Uber has directly linked job cuts to its AI strategy, making it one of the latest technology companies to say artificial intelligence is reshaping how it operates.
HIRING SLOWS, BUT AI RECRUITMENT CONTINUES
Uber had earlier said in May that it would slow hiring because of its growing use of AI internally. However, the company continues to recruit for more than 500 open positions, including engineering roles to support its expanding robotaxi partnerships, according to the report.
The company appears to be shifting hiring towards AI-related and technology-focused roles while reducing headcount in areas where automation can improve efficiency.
Uber is not alone in linking AI adoption to workforce changes.
Bloomberg noted that companies such as Block and Oracle have also cited AI as one of the reasons behind recent job cuts, as businesses increasingly automate routine work and reorganise teams around AI-driven tools.
The latest layoffs suggest that AI is no longer just being used to improve productivity but is also beginning to change how technology companies structure their workforce.
Uber Technologies has cut 10% of jobs in its customer service division as the ride-hailing company expands its use of artificial intelligence (AI), simplifies operations and asks remote employees to relocate to office hubs, reported Bloomberg.
The layoffs affect employees in Uber's community operations team, which handles customer support for riders, drivers and delivery partners. The company said the move is part of a broader effort to simplify its organisation, strengthen in-person collaboration and make greater use of AI across its operations.
In addition to the job cuts, employees who had been working remotely have been asked to relocate to designated hub offices, in line with Uber's return-to-office policy.
WHY UBER IS CUTTING JOBS
According to the report, Uber believes its customer service organisation has become too complicated to fully benefit from AI.
In an internal memo to employees, Megha Yethatika, Uber's Vice President of Global Community Operations, said the organisation had become "too complex and siloed."
She said the company had already made progress in adopting AI but needed a simpler organisational structure to fully unlock its potential.
"We cannot scale frontier technology on top of fragmented processes," she wrote in the memo, according to Bloomberg.
The company has not disclosed how many employees work in its customer service operations, so the exact number of jobs affected is not known.
SECOND ROUND OF JOB CUTS IN TWO MONTHS
This is Uber's second round of workforce reductions in less than two months.
In June, the company cut 23% of its people division, which amounted to less than 1% of its global workforce of around 34,000 employees. Those layoffs came after a new head took charge of the department as Uber looked to simplify its organisational structure.
The latest move is also the first time Uber has directly linked job cuts to its AI strategy, making it one of the latest technology companies to say artificial intelligence is reshaping how it operates.
HIRING SLOWS, BUT AI RECRUITMENT CONTINUES
Uber had earlier said in May that it would slow hiring because of its growing use of AI internally. However, the company continues to recruit for more than 500 open positions, including engineering roles to support its expanding robotaxi partnerships, according to the report.
The company appears to be shifting hiring towards AI-related and technology-focused roles while reducing headcount in areas where automation can improve efficiency.
Uber is not alone in linking AI adoption to workforce changes.
Bloomberg noted that companies such as Block and Oracle have also cited AI as one of the reasons behind recent job cuts, as businesses increasingly automate routine work and reorganise teams around AI-driven tools.
The latest layoffs suggest that AI is no longer just being used to improve productivity but is also beginning to change how technology companies structure their workforce.
Uber Technologies has cut 10% of jobs in its customer service division as the ride-hailing company expands its use of artificial intelligence (AI), simplifies operations and asks remote employees to relocate to office hubs, reported Bloomberg.
The layoffs affect employees in Uber's community operations team, which handles customer support for riders, drivers and delivery partners. The company said the move is part of a broader effort to simplify its organisation, strengthen in-person collaboration and make greater use of AI across its operations.
In addition to the job cuts, employees who had been working remotely have been asked to relocate to designated hub offices, in line with Uber's return-to-office policy.
WHY UBER IS CUTTING JOBS
According to the report, Uber believes its customer service organisation has become too complicated to fully benefit from AI.
In an internal memo to employees, Megha Yethatika, Uber's Vice President of Global Community Operations, said the organisation had become "too complex and siloed."
She said the company had already made progress in adopting AI but needed a simpler organisational structure to fully unlock its potential.
"We cannot scale frontier technology on top of fragmented processes," she wrote in the memo, according to Bloomberg.
The company has not disclosed how many employees work in its customer service operations, so the exact number of jobs affected is not known.
SECOND ROUND OF JOB CUTS IN TWO MONTHS
This is Uber's second round of workforce reductions in less than two months.
In June, the company cut 23% of its people division, which amounted to less than 1% of its global workforce of around 34,000 employees. Those layoffs came after a new head took charge of the department as Uber looked to simplify its organisational structure.
The latest move is also the first time Uber has directly linked job cuts to its AI strategy, making it one of the latest technology companies to say artificial intelligence is reshaping how it operates.
HIRING SLOWS, BUT AI RECRUITMENT CONTINUES
Uber had earlier said in May that it would slow hiring because of its growing use of AI internally. However, the company continues to recruit for more than 500 open positions, including engineering roles to support its expanding robotaxi partnerships, according to the report.
The company appears to be shifting hiring towards AI-related and technology-focused roles while reducing headcount in areas where automation can improve efficiency.
Uber is not alone in linking AI adoption to workforce changes.
Bloomberg noted that companies such as Block and Oracle have also cited AI as one of the reasons behind recent job cuts, as businesses increasingly automate routine work and reorganise teams around AI-driven tools.
The latest layoffs suggest that AI is no longer just being used to improve productivity but is also beginning to change how technology companies structure their workforce.
