Like many other businesses, companies such as Uber have been hit severely by the nationwide lockdown. In order to limit the damage, the vehicle aggregator announced its decision to lay off a fourth of its workforce, that is, 600 employees. The impact will be felt by staff across verticals — customer & driver support, business development, legal, finance, policy and marketing verticals.
Confirming the layoff, Pradeep Parameswaran, president, Uber, India and South Asia, said, “Today is an incredibly sad day for colleagues leaving the Uber family and all of us at the Company. We made the decision now so that we can look to the future with confidence. I want to apologise to the departing colleagues and extend my heartfelt thanks to them for their contribution to Uber, the riders, and the driver partners we serve in India.”
However, the Company also stated that the affected employees will be paid 10 to 12 weeks of salary, besides medical insurance coverage for the next six months and outplacement support.
Also, the laid off employees will be allowed to retain their laptops and be given the option of joining the Uber talent directory.
Earlier, Dara Khusrowshahi, CEO, Uber, had announced that the Company will be taking drastic measures, as a part of the global restructuring plan to deal with the aftermath of the pandemic. He also mentioned that the Company will cut back over 6,700 employees, or 25 per cent of its 27,000-strong workforce, across the globe, in a bid to save $1 billion.
The lockdown had led to an 80 per cent year-on-year decline in Uber’s global business in April. For the January-March quarter of 2020, the Company announced a $2.9 billion loss, its biggest in three quarters.
Uber had earlier advanced its target of achieving a measure of profitability by a year, and was hoping to be in the green by the fourth quarter of 2020.
India accounts for around eight per cent of its total global employee strength.
Recently, rival Ola has also sacked over 1,400 employees owing to the economic burden. Both the cab aggregators have a common investor in Softbank.
Out of the 70+ states, Uber has resumed its services in 50 states in the country, post the relaxation of lockdown rules on May 18.
