Uber Implements Job Cuts Amid AI Integration in Customer Service

Uber's Workforce Reduction Linked to AI Advancements

Uber Technologies has announced a reduction of approximately 10% of its workforce in the customer service sector, joining a growing list of tech firms that attribute job cuts to the rise of artificial intelligence. The company confirmed on Wednesday that these layoffs affected its community operations team. Furthermore, Uber is mandating that employees in this division who were working remotely must move to one of its hub offices, in line with its broader strategy to encourage a return to office work.

An Uber spokesperson stated, "We are working to streamline operations, enhance in-person collaboration, and continue to adopt AI," as reported by Bloomberg. This is the first instance where Uber has explicitly connected job reductions to productivity gains facilitated by AI. Additionally, this restructuring marks the second significant organizational change within two months as the company aims to refine its operational framework.

Need for Simplification Before AI Scaling

In a memo to staff, Megha Yethadka, Uber's vice president of global community operations, elaborated on the necessity of reorganizing customer support functions. She noted, "Our organization has become overly complex and siloed." Yethadka emphasized that while the department has begun to incorporate AI into its processes, further structural adjustments are essential to fully realize the technology's benefits. She remarked, "We have made some progress with AI, but to unlock its potential, we need a cohesive organization to build upon. We cannot implement advanced technology on top of disjointed processes."

This latest restructuring follows a previous round of layoffs in June, where Uber reduced 23% of jobs in its people division, impacting less than 1% of its global workforce of around 34,000 employees after a new leader took over the department. Although Uber has not revealed the exact size of its customer service team, it had previously indicated in May that the increased use of AI would slow down hiring. Nevertheless, the company is still looking to fill over 500 positions, particularly in engineering roles related to its expanding robotaxi projects.

Uber's decision mirrors a wider trend in Silicon Valley, where many companies are increasingly citing AI as the main factor for workforce restructuring rather than weak demand. In recent months, firms such as Block Inc. and Oracle Corp. have also recognized the growing influence of AI in their organizational changes that accompany job cuts. This development follows Amazon's announcement on Wednesday regarding a reduction in its artificial general intelligence division, adding to several smaller layoffs the company has executed this year. According to Layoffs.fyi, nearly 120,000 tech jobs have been eliminated globally so far in 2026.