Uber To Lay Off 200 Employees In Recruitment Division To Streamline Costs

Uber Technologies said on Wednesday it was cutting 200 jobs in its recruitment division amid plans to keep the staff count flat through the year and streamline costs, according to a Reuters report.

The reductions affect less than 1% of Uber's 32,700-strong global workforce and follow the ride-share company laying off 150 employees in its freight services division earlier this year. The latest cuts account for 35% of Uber's recruiting team, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the development earlier in the day, added the Reuters report.

Earlier, Uber cut its staff count by 17% at the start of the pandemic in mid-2020 and has implemented smaller cuts than chief rival Lyft in recent months.

Lyft, under new CEO David Risher, laid off roughly 26% of its total workforce in April and about 700 employees late last year, as it struggled to protect margins in the race to capture more market share from bigger rival Uber, stated the Reuters report.

Uber said in May it was on track to post operating income profitability this year and that it was keeping its workforce flat after headcount fell sequentially in the March quarter, Reuters reported.