Uber Cuts 10% of Staff and Exits Nigeria, Uganda

Uber Technologies Inc. is cutting approximately 3,300 roles, representing 10% of its global workforce, as part of a sweeping restructuring to reduce organizational complexity. Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi announced the move to eliminate management layers, including a 20% reduction in managers and the removal of nearly half of the company's micro-teams. The company intends to redirect these savings toward its ride-sharing, delivery, and robotaxi businesses, including a $10 billion commitment to autonomous vehicle partnerships.

As part of this shift, Uber is implementing a strict new location strategy. The company will concentrate teams in San Francisco and New York hubs, mandating that only about 1% of employees work remotely and requiring a hybrid schedule of three days per week in the office. Following the announcement, Uber's stock price rose 1.5%.

Simultaneously, Uber abruptly shut down operations in Nigeria and Uganda effective September 2, 2026. The exit from these markets followed a business review and occurred amid challenging conditions in Nigeria, including double-digit inflation, rising fuel costs, and intense competition from rivals like Bolt. In some instances, the platform went offline while riders and drivers were mid-trip. Uber stated it remains committed to sub-Saharan Africa through continued operations in Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa.

While investing in robotaxis, Uber is also lobbying for hybrid-network regulations in regions like New Jersey to slow the deployment of fully autonomous vehicles. This strategy aims to protect human driver earnings while the company positions itself as a marketplace for driverless rides against competitors like Waymo and Tesla.