Uber to cut 3,700 employees as ride-hailing demand slumps due to coronavirus
Uber will cut 3,700 employees and its chief executive will forgo his salary for the rest of the year as demand for ride-hailing services collapses due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The company said the job losses will include roles in its customer support and recruitment teams, with $20m in costs expected to be incurred as a result.
The San Francisco based firm revealed the cuts in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Along with rival firm Lyft, Uber has already withdrawn its guidance for the year due to the fall in demand as people have complied with global government requests to remain at home.
Uber, which operates in more countries than Lyft, said that it could claw back some revenues from its food delivery business Uber Eats.
The announcement comes a day ahead of Uber’s first quarter results, which analysts are awaiting with some interest.
In April the firm said that the pandemic made it impossible to predict future financial results.
For the year, the firm had expected to book adjusted net revenue of up to $17bn and an adjusted loss of between $1.45bn and $1.25bn.
Chief exectuive Dara Khosrowshahi has already assured analysts that even in an extreme scenario where ride revenue declines by 80 per cent for the rest of the year, Uber will still have $4bn of unrestricted cash.
Shares in the ride-hailing firm fell 3.5 per cent as markets opened in the US.