Uber CEO says layoffs could help lower ride prices
text_fields
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the company’s decision to lay off about 3,300 employees could benefit customers, with savings potentially used to lower ride prices and improve service.
Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference, Khosrowshahi said savings from the layoffs would be reinvested in the business.
“We are going to take the savings there and essentially reinvest it back in the business, lowering prices, improving selection, and continuing to invest in our growth program,” he said, according to Fortune.
Uber announced earlier this month that it would cut 10% of its corporate workforce, marking its largest round of layoffs since the COVID-19 pandemic. The company said the restructuring was aimed at reducing management layers and organisational complexity.
Khosrowshahi said the savings from insurance costs could also be used to reduce ride prices. Some of the savings may be directed towards Uber’s autonomous taxi network.
In a note to employees announcing the cuts, Khosrowshahi did not attribute the layoffs to artificial intelligence. Instead, he said the organisational layers created during a period of rapid growth had become a barrier to faster decision-making.
“A leaner organisation will mean clearer ownership, faster decisions, and more time spent building rather than coordinating,” he said.
Uber is also preparing for increased competition from robotaxis and plans to invest more than $10 billion in autonomous transportation in the coming years. The company intends to back firms developing self-driving technology and position Uber as a major marketplace for driverless rides.