Uber layoffs will eliminate about 3,300 jobs, roughly 10% of the company’s workforce, in Uber’s biggest workforce reduction since 2020. The restructuring targets management layers, small teams and remote roles while the company directs more resources toward autonomous mobility. The changes arrive as Waymo, Zoox and other robotaxi operators expand across U.S. cities.
Key Takeaways
- Uber said on Sept. 2, 2026, that about 3,300 jobs, or roughly 10% of its workforce, will be eliminated.
- The restructuring will reduce deep reporting layers, combine teams and sharply limit fully remote roles.
- Uber had approximately 34,000 employees worldwide at the end of 2025.
- The cuts come as autonomous ride services expand and Uber broadens its robotaxi partnerships.
- Uber reported second-quarter revenue of $14.2 billion and 3.9 billion trips, meaning the restructuring is taking place while its core platform continues to grow.
Uber Technologies is cutting about 3,300 employees as Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi moves to simplify an organization that expanded rapidly alongside the company’s ride-hailing and delivery businesses.
The reduction equals about 10% of Uber’s workforce and represents its largest round of job cuts since the pandemic-era reductions of 2020. The company is focusing the overhaul on management layers, small teams and organizational structures that executives say have slowed decision-making.
Uber Layoffs Flatten Management and Small Teams
Uber’s annual report shows that the company had approximately 34,000 employees worldwide as of Dec. 31, 2025, including about 20,300 outside the United States. Drivers and couriers are not included in that employee figure because they generally provide services through the platform rather than working as corporate employees.
Under the restructuring, Uber plans to reduce by 20% the number of employees positioned seven or more reporting layers below the CEO. It will also cut the number of teams with only one or two direct reports by nearly half while combining some groups and concentrating more workers around major office hubs.
Fully remote roles are expected to fall to about 1% of the workforce, while Uber maintains its three-day office policy. The changes place the Uber layoffs within a broader pattern of technology workforce restructuring, but Khosrowshahi did not attribute the reductions to artificial intelligence.
That distinction matters because automation and AI have become part of the explanation for workforce reductions at several large technology companies. Uber has framed its own restructuring more narrowly around reducing organizational complexity, clarifying responsibility and accelerating decisions.
The company’s approach also separates the immediate reason for the cuts from the larger competitive pressures surrounding its business. Robotaxis are central to Uber’s current strategy, but the available public statements do not establish autonomous vehicles as the sole cause of the 3,300 job reductions.
Robotaxi Expansion Raises Competitive Pressure
The workforce changes arrive during a faster expansion of autonomous ride-hailing in the United States. On Sept. 1, Waymo and Amazon-owned Zoox announced new U.S. market activity, with Waymo beginning to welcome riders in Denver, San Diego and Tampa and Zoox adding testing in Houston and San Diego.
Uber occupies an unusual position in that market. Autonomous vehicle companies can serve as partners on its platform while also developing ride services of their own. Waymo, for example, provides autonomous rides through Uber in Austin and Atlanta while operating its own Waymo service in a growing list of other cities.
That structure makes Uber’s marketplace strategy central to its response to driverless transportation. The company said in May that autonomous vehicles were available only in sections of select U.S. cities and represented a small part of its network. Human drivers therefore continue to handle most rides coordinated through the platform.
Uber has also widened its autonomous vehicle relationships beyond Waymo. Lucid said in April that Uber expanded its planned vehicle commitment for a robotaxi program involving Lucid and Nuro to at least 35,000 vehicles. The program combines Lucid vehicles, Nuro’s autonomous-driving system and Uber’s ride platform.
Reuters reported in August that Uber plans to direct more than $10 billion toward robotaxi-related efforts over the coming years, including autonomous-vehicle partners, fleet operations and vehicles. That commitment helps explain why driverless mobility has become a major strategic priority even as Uber continues to rely heavily on human drivers and couriers.
The development also connects Uber with wider robotics startup growth as autonomous systems move from testing toward commercial transportation, delivery and logistics applications.
Strong Q2 Results Frame the Restructuring
The Uber layoffs are not occurring after a reported collapse in platform activity. In the second quarter of 2026, Uber reported revenue of $14.2 billion, up 12% from a year earlier, while gross bookings increased 24% to $58.0 billion.
Trips rose 18% to 3.9 billion during the quarter. Income from operations increased 30% to $1.9 billion, and the company reported 208 million monthly active platform consumers, up 16% from the same period a year earlier.
Those figures give the restructuring a different context from Uber’s pandemic-era cuts, which followed a sharp fall in ride demand. The latest reduction is taking place while trips, bookings and revenue are growing, with management using the restructuring to change how teams and reporting lines operate.
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Autonomous transportation adds another layer to that calculation. Uber is attempting to preserve its role between riders and transportation providers even as some vehicles no longer require human drivers. Its partnership approach allows autonomous operators to use Uber’s marketplace while the company avoids relying on a single self-driving technology provider.
That strategy also creates a competitive tension. Waymo can work with Uber in Austin and Atlanta while serving riders directly elsewhere. Other autonomous operators are pursuing their own networks, partnerships and fleet models as more cities gain driverless ride services.
The immediate effects are more defined. Uber will operate with fewer corporate positions, fewer layers of management, fewer very small teams and tighter limits on fully remote work.
The layoffs amount to a structural reset during a period of rising platform activity and expanding autonomous partnerships. The available evidence points to organizational simplification as the stated reason for the cuts, while the growing robotaxi market increases the importance of how Uber deploys people, technology and operational resources across its business.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many jobs is Uber cutting?
Uber is cutting about 3,300 jobs, representing roughly 10% of its workforce. Reuters reported the reductions on Sept. 2, 2026, citing the company and a message from CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.
Why is Uber reducing its workforce?
Uber says the restructuring is designed to reduce management layers, simplify teams and speed decision-making. The company has not described artificial intelligence as the primary reason for the cuts.
Are the Uber layoffs connected to robotaxis?
The Uber layoffs are taking place as robotaxi competition expands, but Uber has framed the job cuts mainly as an organizational restructuring. Autonomous mobility is nevertheless a major strategic priority as the company broadens relationships with Waymo, Lucid, Nuro and other operators.
Where can riders use Waymo through Uber?
Waymo autonomous rides are available through the Uber app in Austin and Atlanta. Waymo also operates its own service in several other U.S. markets.
Does Uber still rely on human drivers?
Yes. Uber has said autonomous vehicles remain available only in parts of select cities and account for a small portion of its broader network. Human drivers and couriers continue to perform most of the transportation and delivery work coordinated through the platform.
