Uber cuts 10% of corporate staff, launches London robotaxi pilot
The ride-hailing giant is shedding thousands of management roles to flatten its hierarchy as it pivots toward autonomous mobility.
Uber is aggressively restructuring its corporate operations and expanding its autonomous vehicle footprint, announcing the layoff of approximately 3,300 employees alongside the launch of a robotaxi service in London. The dual move signals a strategic shift toward a leaner organizational structure and a heavier reliance on AI-driven mobility.
The company is cutting roughly 10% of its global corporate workforce to eliminate management layers and increase operational speed. The restructuring specifically targets the organizational hierarchy, aiming to reduce the number of employees seven or more reporting layers below the CEO by 20%. Additionally, Uber intends to nearly halve the number of "micro-teams," which are defined as teams consisting of only one or two direct reports.
A Pivot to Automation
While shedding corporate overhead, Uber is simultaneously deploying the UK's first robotaxi service. The pilot program in London utilizes a fleet of 15 Ford Mustang electric vehicles powered by AI technology from Wayve. Although the vehicles are autonomous, they currently require a human safety driver to remain behind the wheel during operation. Wayve CEO Alex Kendall described the pursuit of this technology as "the space race for our generation."
Strategic Resource Allocation
This transition reflects Uber's evolution from a ride-hailing platform dependent on human drivers to a technology marketplace that integrates autonomous systems. The move comes as the company faces intense competition from rivals like Waymo and Tesla. By reducing corporate "bloat" and limiting fully remote roles to approximately 1% of its workforce, Uber is repositioning its resources to support a high-capital bet on automation.
Sarfraz Maredia, Uber's global head of autonomous mobility and delivery, noted that the company intends to offer a hybrid model. "We always want consumers to be able to request a human ride or an autonomous vehicle," Maredia said, adding that human drivers are expected to remain a part of Uber London for a long time.
The Road Ahead
Industry analysts view the timing of these events as a calculated reallocation of capital, trading traditional management structures for AI infrastructure. The success of the London pilot will be a key indicator of Uber's ability to scale autonomous fleets in complex urban environments. For now, the company remains focused on flattening its internal hierarchy to move faster in a market where automation is becoming the primary competitive frontier.