Uber Tightens Remote Work Policy, Cuts 3,300 Jobs in Major Restructuring.

Uber is tightening its remote-work policy as part of a major organisational restructuring that will eliminate about 3,300 jobs, marking the ride-hailing company’s largest workforce reduction since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi disclosed the changes in a memo to employees, saying the company would require most fully remote workers to return to an office. Going forward, only about one per cent of Uber’s workforce will be permitted to work fully remotely.

“We are also asking the vast majority of remote employees to move to an office, and going forward, only 1% of employees will be remote,” Khosrowshahi said.

Uber did not disclose the current number of fully remote employees, making it unclear how many workers will be directly affected by the new policy.

Despite the change, the company will retain its hybrid work arrangement, which requires employees to work from an office three days a week.

Khosrowshahi said the decision reflects Uber’s experience with in-person collaboration, particularly its impact on teamwork, problem-solving and the development of employees in the early stages of their careers.

“The benefits of sitting together, collaborating in person, and solving problems as a team are clearer than ever in our post-COVID world,” he said.

As part of the restructuring, Uber is also introducing clearer guidelines on where teams and roles should be located, with employees increasingly concentrated in a smaller number of strategic hubs.

Global teams will primarily operate from major hubs such as New York and San Francisco, while regional teams will be located in designated regional centres. Local teams will operate from country hubs, while technology employees will be concentrated in designated technology hubs.

The company will also prioritise having managers work in the same locations as their teams where possible, particularly for employees who are earlier in their careers.

Beyond its workplace changes, Uber is restructuring its workforce to simplify operations, reduce management layers and address the proliferation of small teams.

Khosrowshahi said the company’s significant expansion over the past five years had resulted in additional organisational layers, increased coordination requirements and fragmented ownership across parts of the business.

The restructuring is expected to reduce Uber’s management ranks by about 20 per cent. It will also cut by roughly half the number of “micro-teams” led by managers with only one or two direct reports.

The planned elimination of about 3,300 jobs underscores a broader push by the company to streamline operations and improve organisational efficiency as it adjusts its workforce structure.

In Nigeria, Uber ended its ride-hailing operations in September after about 12 years in the market. The company also discontinued operations in Uganda.

Uber entered Lagos in 2014 and later expanded to other Nigerian cities, becoming one of the early major players in the country’s app-based mobility industry.

Its departure has reshaped Nigeria’s ride-hailing landscape, leaving Bolt and other mobility platforms to compete for drivers and passengers in a market that has expanded significantly since Uber’s entry more than a decade ago.