Uber is limiting totally remote work to approximately 1% of its workforce after announcing intentions to cut about 3,300 jobs, its largest labor reduction since the COVID-19 epidemic.
Dara Khosrowshahi, the business’s CEO, announced the shift in a memo addressed to staff and published on Uber’s website, which was viewed by Chronicle NG on Wednesday, claiming the company would require the majority of its current remote employees to relocate to an office.
“We are also asking the vast majority of remote employees to move to an office, and going forward, only 1% of employees will be remote,” the executive wrote.
Uber has not disclosed how many employees presently work entirely remotely; thus, the email does not specify how many people are being asked to relocate to an office.
The company will, however, maintain its hybrid working philosophy, which requires workers to work from an office three days per week.
Khosrowshahi stated that the new method was predicated on the benefits Uber saw from employees physically working together, particularly in terms of cooperation, problem-solving, and early-career employee growth.
“The benefits of sitting together, collaborating in person, and solving problems as a team are clearer than ever in our post-COVID world,” he stated.
Global teams will be centered in Uber’s main global hubs, such as New York and San Francisco, whereas regional teams will be situated in designated regional hubs, local teams in country hubs, and technical teams in technology hubs.
Wherever practical, the organization would prioritize co-location between managers and their teams, particularly for employees in their early career.
The layoffs are part of a larger restructuring aimed at simplifying Uber’s structure, reducing management levels, and eliminating tiny teams with few direct subordinates.
According to Khosrowshahi, Uber has grown significantly over the last five years, but this has resulted in additional organizational levels, increased coordination requirements, and more fragmented ownership.
The restructure is projected to shrink Uber’s management ranks by approximately 20% and lower the number of so-called micro-teams, which are made up of managers with only one or two direct subordinates, by almost 50%.
In Nigeria, the firm stopped its ride-hailing operations in September after nearly 12 years in the nation, citing changes in the local operating climate and competition from other mobility platforms. It ended in Uganda, as well.
Uber began operating in Lagos in 2014 and then expanded into other Nigerian cities. Its withdrawal forces Bolt and other ride-hailing companies to fight for drivers and riders in a market that has expanded dramatically since Uber launched its service.
