Uber To Lay Off 200-250 Employees In India Amid Global Restructuring

Ride-hailing major Uber is laying off around 200-250 employees in India as part of a broader global restructuring that will see the company eliminate about 3,300 roles. 

The India layoffs, which are expected to impact both individual contributors and managers, come barely six months after Uber cut around 80 jobs in the country. The latest exercise is expected to primarily affect the company’s technology and operations teams, with its AI solutions team slashed by half, according to an ET report citing sources. 

Responding to Inc42’s queries, an Uber spokesperson said, “Globally, we are making organisational changes to remove layers so we can move faster. As part of these changes, we will be saying goodbye to some valued team members in India, whom we will support through this transition. Our commitment to India as a key market, and our ambition to innovate locally for riders and drivers, remain unchanged – in fact, we are expanding India’s strategic footprint by strengthening our regional operations here to drive our mobility business across Asia-Pacific.”

Globally, Uber is cutting about 10% of its workforce as it looks to simplify its organisational structure, reduce management layers, and redirect resources towards its core mobility and delivery businesses as well as its autonomous vehicle ambitions. 

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, in a note to employees, said the company has become increasingly complex following years of rapid expansion, with additional layers of management, greater coordination requirements and fragmented ownership slowing down decision-making.

The company plans to reduce by around 20% the number of employees who sit seven or more organisational layers below the CEO. It will also nearly halve the number of “micro-teams” with only one or two direct reports and consolidate several functions, the company said in a blog post. 

Uber is also merging its separate delivery operations teams covering restaurants, retail and direct delivery, while bringing together its core services engineering and science teams.

The company said the savings generated from the organisational reset would be redirected towards growth, innovation and capabilities that will be important to its future. It also plans to invest more than $10 Bn in autonomous vehicle technology over the coming years as robotaxis threaten to reshape the traditional ride-hailing model.

Uber said the restructuring followed a period of strong business performance, with its top line tripling over the past five years as it added products, expanded into new businesses, and reached more consumers and earners. 

As part of the restructuring, Uber will also ask the vast majority of its remote employees to return to the office. Going forward, only around 1% of its employees will work remotely, while the company will continue enforcing its hybrid policy requiring employees to work from the office three days a week. 

Uber India Cuts Come Amid Broader Reset

The layoffs come at a time when Uber is stepping up its investments in India, particularly in technology and AI. 

In February this year, the company infused nearly ₹3,000 Cr into its India arm, Uber India Systems. The parent company invested ₹2,921 Cr through two tranches, as competition intensified in India’s ride-hailing market, especially from Rapido. 

Khosrowshahi previously acknowledged Rapido as the company’s biggest competitor in India.

Notably, Uber and Rapido reportedly held talks earlier this year to potentially combine their India ride-hailing operations. The discussions broke down over the structure of the proposed deal. Rapido subsequently denied that it was exploring a merger. 

Uber India’s net loss surged nearly 15X to ₹1,511 Cr in FY25 from ₹89 Cr in FY24, while its gross revenue remained largely flat at ₹2,604 Cr.

In March, Uber shut its shuttle service in Delhi NCR, following similar shutdowns in Mumbai and Hyderabad, as it shifted its focus towards employee transportation services for businesses. The company is looking to tap India’s growing corporate commute and GCC ecosystem through its B2B mobility offering.

At the same time, it announced plans to open two new technology centres in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, along with its first data centre in India, being set up with the Adani Group. 

In June, Prabhjeet Singh stepped down as Uber’s India and South Asia head after more than a decade with the company to join OpenAI as its India MD.

The post Uber To Lay Off 200-250 Employees In India Amid Global Restructuring appeared first on Inc42 Media.