Uber cuts 3,000 more jobs, closes offices around the world

Angela Lang/CNET

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Less than two weeks after laying off thousands of employees, ride-hailing company Uber on Monday is cutting about 3,000 more jobs and closing or consolidating around 40 offices. The moves, which were reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal, are part of the company’s attempt to deal with the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Given the dramatic impact of the pandemic, and the unpredictable nature of any eventual recovery, we are concentrating our efforts on our core mobility and delivery platforms and resizing our company to match the realities of our business,” said Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi in a statement. “That’s led us to some painful decisions today: We are stopping some of our non-core investments and reducing the size of our workforce by around 3,000 people, each of whom I want to personally thank for their contributions to Uber.”

Earlier in May, Uber laid off around 3,700 full-time employees, mostly from its customer support and recruiting teams. Combined with the cuts today, Uber has reduced its workforce by about 25 percent. On Monday, Uber said it will also close or consolidate around 40 offices around the world, including its Pier 70 office in San Francisco, which will join the company’s future campus in Mission Bay.

Uber has seen its core ride-hailing business significantly impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic, even as the company has tried to expand offerings like Uber Eats and other delivery services. It’s also seen thousands of its drivers become infected with or exposed to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. At least five Uber drivers have died from the virus.

In an email to employees announcing the cuts, Khosrowshahi said the silver lining amid the outbreak has been the growth of Uber Eats, but added that the expansion of its food and grocery delivery business doesn’t come close to covering the company’s expenses.

Uber is also making some management changes to focus on its core transit and delivery businesses and will wind down projects like its AI Labs.

Uber rival Lyft also announced layoffs earlier this month, letting go of nearly 1,000 employees. It too has experienced a significant financial hit during the crisis.