Uber to lay off 200 employees in recruitment division to streamline costs

The ride-hailing company laid off 200 employees in its recruitment division as another measure to streamline costs. The layoff represents 1 per cent of its global workforce.

Uber Technologies is laying off 200 employees in its recruitment division, planning to keep the staff count flat throughout the year in a measure to ‘streamline costs.’

This job cut comprises less than 1% of companies' global 32,700-strong workforce. Earlier this year, the company also laid off 150 employees from the freight service division.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the latest job cuts account for 35% of Uber's recruiting team. Since the pandemic, the ride-sharing company has reduced 17% of its workforce, and in 2020, it laid off around 6700 employees in two rounds of job cuts.

The company's CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, says that the company accelerated its growth to 24 per cent in Q1 compared to 19 per cent in the last quarter. It has improved earnings and consumer engagement results in mobility trip growth of 32 per cent.

"Looking ahead, we are focused on extending our product, scale and platform advantages to sustain market-leading top and bottom-line growth beyond 2023, Khosrowshahi further added. 

Lyft laid off 26% of its workforce

Uber has laid off thousands of employees in the last few years, but the numbers are still low compared to its chief rival, Lyft.

Lyft laid off around 26 per cent of its workforce in April last year, and it further removed 700 more employees towards the end of 2022.

Uber looks confident in achieving operating profit this year. The company mentioned maintaining a flat workforce reducing the employees in the company during the Q1 of 2023.

The layoff in the recruitment division is a part of its overall cost-cutting strategy, as the company is aiming to enhance its financial performance and solidify its position among competitive ride-sharing companies.