Uber, which had already announced the removal of 3,700 jobs in early May due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on its business, will lay off 3,000 additional workers, its CEO announced on Monday.
Read also: Uber drivers will have to take a selfie proving they are wearing a mask
The group, hit hard by the restrictive measures limiting movement to stem the pandemic, thus separated in a few weeks from about a quarter of its total workforce. Uber will also close some 40 offices worldwide, out of several hundred in total.
According to its latest quarterly report, Uber recorded a loss of $ 3 billion and a 80% drop in bookings in April. This is why 14% of the staff were dismissed. On the other hand, the UberEats meal delivery activity generated a strong increase in revenues.
Uber refocuses on its core business
The platform also plans to focus on its core business, passenger transport and food delivery with Uber Eats, abandoning several projects considered "non-essential". The company will notably reduce the size of its laboratory dedicated to artificial intelligence and its project incubator. It is also studying " strategic alternatives " for Uber Works, the service which aimed to put companies and workers in touch.
“ Given the dramatic impact of the pandemic and the unpredictable nature of any possible recovery, we are focusing our efforts on our main mobility and delivery platforms and resizing our business to match the realities of our business ”, commented the director general of the company Dara Khosrowshahi in a message sent to AFP.
Layoffs announced by videoconference
The new layoffs are spread across most of the group's divisions and across all regions of the world. They do not concern drivers, who are not considered employees by Uber. The group has drawn criticism in recent days while circulating on the internet a video showing the director of customer service announce their dismissal to apparently several thousand employees at the same time.
Questioned by AFP, Uber did not wish to comment on this subject. But several American companies have used teleconference services in recent weeks to announce mass layoffs.