Uber (UBER.US) cuts 10% of customer service positions, announces full adoption of artificial intelligence
Uber announced that it has laid off 10% of the staff in its customer service department as part of its initiative to streamline the organization and fully embrace an artificial intelligence (AI) strategy.
According to Zhitong Finance APP, Uber (UBER.US) announced that it has laid off 10% of its customer service department employees as part of its strategy to streamline the organization and fully "embrace artificial intelligence (AI)".
The company announced the layoffs for its community operations team on Wednesday. An Uber spokesperson stated in an email that the company is focused on "simplifying operational processes, strengthening offline team collaboration, and continuously deepening the application of AI technology." The spokesperson also revealed that remote team members have been required to relocate to the company's hub offices to comply with Uber's return-to-office policy.
Megha Yethatika, Uber's Global VP of Community Operations, admitted in an internal memo to the department on Wednesday: "Our organizational structure has become overly complex and siloed." She noted that the department has "made some progress" in applying AI, "but to unlock the full potential of this technology, we need to build a more efficient organizational structure to support deep AI implementation. Advanced technologies cannot be scaled on top of fragmented processes."
In recent months, an increasing number of companies, from financial services firm Block (XYZ.US) to cloud computing giant Oracle (ORCL.US), have cited AI as an important consideration in layoffs. This move marks the first time Uber has explicitly linked layoffs to AI-driven efficiency, and it is also the company's second round of workforce adjustments to streamline team structure in less than two months.
In June this year, after the new president took office, Uber cut 23% of employees from its so-called "people department", accounting for less than 1% of its global workforce of approximately 34,000. Uber did not disclose the specific size of its customer service team.
In May this year, Uber stated that it would slow down hiring due to the widespread internal adoption of AI. However, the company's official recruitment page still listed more than 500 open positions, including engineering roles needed for its autonomous taxi partnership projects.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
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