Uber Technologies NYSE:UBER, a technology company hiring engineers to support robotaxi partnerships, has cut 10% of jobs in its customer service operations as management moves to simplify the organization and expand its use of artificial intelligence. The reductions were announced within Uber's community operations team on Wednesday, while remote employees in the division were also asked to relocate to a hub office under the company's return-to-office policy. Uber said the changes are intended to streamline operations, strengthen in-person collaboration, and create a more effective structure for adopting AI across the department.
Megha Yethadka, Uber's vice president of global community operations, told employees that the organization had become too complicated and divided across separate teams. She noted that the department had already made progress in using AI, but suggested the company first needed to improve fragmented processes before it could deploy more advanced technology at scale. This marks the first time Uber has directly linked layoffs to an AI efficiency initiative and represents its second round of organizational reductions in less than two months.
In June, Uber eliminated 23% of its people division after a new president took over, although those cuts represented less than 1% of the company's 34,000 global employees. Uber also said in May that it would slow hiring because of its internal use of AI, but the company continues to advertise more than 500 positions, including engineering roles connected to robotaxi partnerships. With Uber shares largely unchanged in after-hours trading, investors may be waiting to see whether the restructuring can deliver greater operating efficiency while the company continues recruiting for selected growth areas.