The ride-hailing giant Uber (UBER.US) has announced a new round of organizational changes affecting internal functions, resulting in a reduction of approximately 23% of roles within its human resources-related departments. This impacts multiple teams including recruitment, HR, workplace management, and company culture. The company stated that this restructuring is aimed at simplifying the organizational framework and enhancing operational efficiency, and is not directly related to artificial intelligence (AI).
According to information disclosed by Uber, the job cuts primarily occurred within its "People and Places" division, with a significant number of the eliminated positions being senior management roles. Although the reduction rate reached 23%, due to the relatively limited size of this department, the total number of affected employees constitutes less than 1% of the company's global workforce of approximately 34,000. It is worth noting that Uber's roughly 10 million drivers are not included in this employee count, as they are largely classified as independent contractors.
Concurrently, Uber has also mandated previously authorized remote workers within the HR department to return to the office. This move aligns with the company's policy, implemented since last June, requiring employees to be physically present in the office for at least three days per week.
Following the announcement of the news, Uber's stock price experienced some pressure during early trading on Wednesday but subsequently recovered those losses. By the market close, the company's share price had risen by 0.73%, reaching $72.21.
This organizational adjustment comes shortly after a recent change in Uber's senior leadership. Three weeks ago, Jill Hazelbaker, who had long overseen marketing, policy, and corporate communications, was promoted to the role of Senior Vice President and Chief Business Affairs Officer. In her new capacity, she has taken on responsibility for Uber's safety operations and the People and Places organization, in addition to her existing duties, significantly expanding her purview following the departure of other leaders in those areas this year.
In an internal memo to staff, Hazelbaker indicated that as the company has grown, some organizational structures had become overly complex and fragmented. She noted, "Some teams have overlapping responsibilities, accountability is unclear, and some teams have drifted away from the business units and partners they support."
Uber's CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, stated in a separate internal memo that this adjustment is necessary to improve the effectiveness of the HR team and unlock the company's future growth potential.
It is noteworthy that in the current climate where the tech industry is frequently citing AI as a driver for workforce reductions, Uber has specifically emphasized that these layoffs are unrelated to artificial intelligence. In recent years, major tech firms including Microsoft (MSFT.US), Google (GOOG.US, GOOGL.US), and Amazon (AMZN.US) have conducted large-scale layoffs citing increased AI investment and operational efficiency gains. In contrast, Uber is pursuing a more targeted cost optimization strategy rather than a broad reduction in headcount. In fact, the company is still actively hiring.
Uber stated that it currently has over 800 open positions it is looking to fill, including roles related to the commercialization of autonomous ride-hailing vehicles. However, the company also mentioned last month that the pace of hiring would likely slow in the future due to the widespread internal adoption of AI tools.
This is not the first time Uber has restructured its HR team in recent years. Back in 2023, the company implemented layoffs within its recruitment department and at its online grocery subsidiary, Cornershop, as part of efforts to control costs and optimize resource allocation.
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