Uber to cut jobs as part of 'stringent performance review'

Ride-hailing giant Uber has announced that it will be reducing its workforce as part of a performance review process.

The company, however, plans to hire new employees to backfill impacted roles, a Business Insider report said citing a company spokesperson.

According to the report, the company spokesperson termed these cuts as a part of a more stringent performance review.


The company did not specify how many employees will be affected by the move.

"This year, we've taken an even more rigorous approach to our performance review process to ensure our talent bar remains very high," the report quoted a representative of Uber as saying.

"We plan to backfill these positions and will continue to invest in attracting and retaining top talent at Uber"

Uber employed some 32,600 drivers worldwide at the end of September, according to the company's last quarterly earnings report.

The development comes amid major tech companies, including Microsoft, Google and Meta, announcing mass layoffs.

Notably, Uber's chief executive officer Dara Khosrowshahi had reportedly said at the Davos World Economic Forum in January that the company was not planning layoffs.

"We're not at this point planning on any company-wide layoffs," Khosrowshahi said, adding that it was his job to make "shifts" within the company but that "the core business and the core workforce ... are well balanced and well positioned for the future.”

Meanwhile, Meta has said they will be “more strict when they evaluate their employees”. This was after the company announced that it will slash around 12,000 jobs globally amid a challenging macroeconomic environment.

The company has reportedly given "subpar ratings" to thousands of employees during its latest performance review, which hints at more layoffs in the coming months.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, the leadership “expects the ratings to lead more employees to leave in the coming weeks.”