Uber freezes hiring of tech staff in US, Canada to counter mounting losses

Uber Technologies Inc said it instituted a hiring freeze for employees working on software and services across the US and Canada, as the ride-hailing company faces mounting losses.

An Uber spokesman said Friday that the San Francisco-based company has put a pause on hiring new software engineers and product managers. Those teams had exceeded their hiring goals for the year, he said. The freeze will not include workers in Uber’s freight or autonomous vehicles businesses.

“We are continuing to aggressively hire talent, including many engineers, all over the world,” the spokesman said. “We temporarily hit pause on some teams while we ensure we’re being both effective and efficient in staffing against our strategic priorities.”

The decision, earlier reported by Yahoo Finance, comes after a painful second quarter for Uber. The company missed revenue expectations and posted a $5.24 billion net loss, its biggest ever. The stock is down 11 per cent from its May initial public offering price. Last week, Uber said it was cutting 400 marketing employees around the world. Along with the hiring freeze, the moves suggest Uber is being more cautious about headcount after years of rapid growth.