Uber CEO hints at cheaper rides after 3,300 job cuts

Uber just fired 3,300 people, and its CEO wants you to know this is actually good news for riders. At the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on September 10, Dara Khosrowshahi said the company plans to funnel savings from its massive workforce reduction back into cheaper rides and expanded service options.

The cuts, announced September 2, wiped out roughly 10% of Uber’s global workforce of approximately 34,000 employees. It’s the company’s deepest round of layoffs since 2020, when the pandemic temporarily cratered demand for getting into strangers’ cars.

The logic behind the layoffs

Khosrowshahi framed the restructuring as an overdue cleanup. Years of rapid growth had apparently left Uber bloated with too many management layers and what the company described as inefficient micro-teams. The goal now is a flatter organizational structure with faster decision-making and clearer ownership over projects.

The restructuring is also a defensive maneuver. Alphabet’s Waymo has been steadily expanding its autonomous taxi service, and Uber’s leadership clearly views robotaxis as an existential competitive threat in key markets. The company has committed more than $10 billion to partnerships focused on autonomous vehicle technology and robotaxi capabilities.

Financial picture looks solid despite the cuts

The layoffs aren’t happening because Uber is struggling financially. The company reported Q2 2026 revenue of $14.19 billion, a 12% increase year-over-year. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.81, up 28.5% from the same period a year earlier. Full-year 2025 revenue landed at approximately $52 billion.

Uber’s stock ticked modestly higher after the layoff announcement, suggesting Wall Street views the cuts as a sign of discipline rather than distress.

The workforce reduction wasn’t the only organizational change. Uber has also clamped down on remote work, limiting fully remote roles to roughly 1% of its staff. And the company announced it would exit operations in Nigeria and Uganda.

Earlier in 2026, Uber had already made targeted cuts in customer support and HR roles. The September round was broader in scope but followed the same logic.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.