Uber not planning layoffs: CEO

Ride-hailing giant Uber is not planning any company-wide layoffs, the US firm’s boss said Thursday, bucking the downsizing trend in the tech sector.

Uber employed some 32,600 drivers worldwide at the end of September, according to the company’s last quarterly earnings report.

“We’re not at this point planning on any company-wide layoffs,” Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said at a Wall Street Journal event on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Microsoft said Wednesday it would layoff 10,000 employees in the coming months as the economic downturn punishes US tech giants.

Facebook-owner Meta, Amazon, Twitter and Salesforce have also announced thousands of layoffs.

The redundancies follow a major hiring spree during the height of the coronavirus pandemic when companies scrambled to meet demand as people went online for work, shopping and entertainment.

Khosrowshahi said it was his job to make “shifts” within the company but that “the core business and the core workforce … are well balanced and well positioned for the future.

“I certainly hope it stays that way. But it is a dynamic environment, and we’re going to adjust pretty quickly.”

Khosrowshahi said Uber was working with various automakers to design cars purpose-built for its ride-hailing and delivery services.

He declined to name the companies.

© 2023 AFP