Source: Uber executives discuss cutting ~20% of its 27,000 headcount in the coming weeks; company veteran CTO Thuan Pham has resigned
Executives at Uber are discussing plans to cut around 20% of the company's employees, as it copes with a sharp decline in its ride-hailing business due …
The InformationAmir Efrati
Context & Ripple Effects
The reported ~20% discussion is not Uber's first retrenchment: it had already trimmed ~400 people from its 1,200-person marketing team in mid-2019 and another 435 from product and engineering that September, so this round extends a pre-pandemic streamlining drive rather than starting one. What is new is scale and simultaneity — a cut of roughly 5,400 of 27,000 employees discussed alongside the resignation of long-tenured CTO Thuan Pham.
First-order effects
Roughly 5,400 of Uber's 27,000 employees face job loss within weeks, and the company loses its veteran CTO at the same moment its engineering organization is being resized.
The discussion, if executed, would be the largest single reduction in Uber's history, dwarfing the 2019 marketing and product-team cuts.
Second-order effects
Uber's move pressures rival Lyft to match the cost reset — a playbook Lyft followed two years later with a 13% cut of its own workforce, confirming the competitive dynamic.
A shrinking headcount plus the later closure of 45 offices signals a smaller physical footprint, reducing Uber's real estate and facilities commitments alongside payroll.
Losing a decade-plus CTO during a downsizing points to consolidation of technical leadership under leaner structures, a template other pandemic-hit platforms may copy.
The trend: Ride-hailing is shifting from growth-at-all-costs staffing to recurring, board-level cost resets, with each player's cuts pressuring the other to follow.
and i musta missed this one, but imagine satya running product at miscrosoft or sundar at google. yeahhhhh no. https://www.theinformation.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Uber is one of the top 5 biggest office tenants in SF and on the verge of finishing a huge headquarters next to @ChaseCenter. It already listed many of its older offices for sublease: https://sfchronicle.com/... This could have massive SF real estate waves. https://twitter.com/..…
wow big on Uber: CTO Thuan Pham resigning per @theinformation + thousands of companies could be laid off soon under plan to cut 20% of headcount https://twitter.com/...
It was just a matter of time. Also, so many businesses are at a complete standstill, and everyone is at home. So who would go for Uber rides? Uber discusses plan to lay off employees. I hope they find a cure/vaccine soon. https://www.theinformation.com/ ...
Ouch. So painful. My heart goes out to all those caring and skilled people. People at Uber have done terrible things, but Dara has cleaned up the mess and the company is packed with good people and the culture is getting much better. https://twitter.com/...
📉uber ride-hailing biz down 80% 💸dara previously said uber could still end 2020 with $4b if 80% decline persisted 🪓proposed cuts of 5400 staff (20%), including 800 engineers, could save another $1b 👋🏼cto thuan, last of travis's exec team, is leaving https://www.theinformation.com…
Uber plans to lay off 5,400 out of 27,000 as ride hailing business hit by corona virus. Another example of how #COVID19 is creating feast or famine in tech as Instacart just announced its first profitable quarter yesterday. https://www.theinformation.com/ ...
Exclusive: Uber leaders discuss cutting ~20% of headcount in coming weeks. Thousands of employees likely to be affected. Also CTO Thuan Pham, last senior exec holdover from Travis Kalanick era, is leaving. More info & context here: https://www.theinformation.com/ ... $uber