Uber announced plans to cut approximately 3,300 jobs, representing about 10 percent of its global workforce, in its largest round of layoffs since the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision, disclosed on Wednesday, aims to simplify the company’s structure and improve operational efficiency as it shifts greater focus toward its autonomous vehicle ambitions.

Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi stated that the reductions will primarily affect middle management roles, targeting layers of the organization that have grown overly complex amid rapid expansion. He said the restructuring would reduce coordination overhead and fragmented ownership across teams, enabling clearer accountability and faster decision-making. The number of employees located more than seven reporting layers below the CEO will be cut by 20 percent, with efforts to halve the number of very small teams of one or two people. Uber also intends to consolidate delivery operations, previously fragmented across restaurant, retail, and direct delivery teams, to streamline functions.

The layoffs are expected to generate substantial annual savings—estimates range from $825 million to $1.75 billion—that Uber plans to reinvest in growth initiatives, innovation, and advancing its autonomous vehicle technology. The company has committed over $10 billion toward developing a robotaxi network, aiming to operate in at least 15 cities this year. This move positions Uber in direct competition with other autonomous ride providers, notably Alphabet’s Waymo and Tesla, both of which are progressing with stand-alone driverless ride services that could challenge Uber’s traditional platform.

Uber’s ride-hailing business has experienced intensified competition in both autonomous mobility and food delivery sectors. While Uber Eats has expanded market share in Europe, it has lost ground in the U.S. to DoorDash, holding approximately 51 percent versus DoorDash’s 64 percent. Uber’s shares have fallen roughly 6.5 to 7 percent year-to-date amid these pressures.

In addition to workforce changes, Uber is tightening its work-from-home policies. Most remote employees will be required to return to office locations or adopt a hybrid work schedule, limiting the fully remote workforce to about 1 percent. The company is consolidating global engineering and science teams primarily in New York and San Francisco, with regional hubs elsewhere.

Khosrowshahi emphasized that the restructuring is not directly driven by artificial intelligence replacing workers but rather by the need to adapt organizational size and structure to current business demands. He framed the layoffs as a step toward creating a “leaner organization” that can focus more on building new products and services.

With the reorganization, Uber aims to maintain its leadership in ride-hailing while significantly expanding its autonomous vehicle capabilities amidst growing competition and evolving market dynamics.