Uber is cutting 3,300 corporate jobs to focus on self-driving cars

Uber is laying off about 3,300 corporate employees, which is roughly 10% of its office workforce. This cut brings total office staff from 34,000 down to just under 30,000, returning staffing to 2021 levels. It is Uber’s largest round of layoffs since 2020, even though the company is currently profitable and financially healthy.

Uber's leadership explained that the company became too slow because of excessive bureaucracy. To fix this, Uber is reducing its manager roles by 20%, removing tiny one- or two-person teams, and trimming the layers between regular employees and the CEO so staff spend less time in meetings and more time getting work done.

This layoff does not impact everyday drivers or Uber Eats couriers. Because drivers work as independent contractors rather than salaried corporate employees, their daily work on the road continues as usual.

Uber is also ending most work-from-home flexibility, allowing only about 1% of staff to stay fully remote. Employees must now strictly follow a policy requiring them to work in the office at least three days a week, and many are being told to move closer to primary hubs like San Francisco and New York.

The money saved from these cuts will help fund Uber's push into autonomous vehicles. With rivals like Waymo growing rapidly, Uber has committed over $10 billion to driverless car partnerships to secure its position in the future of automated ride-hailing.