Another round of AI-driven restructuring has hit the technology industry, with Uber Technologies announcing that it is cutting 10 per cent of jobs in its customer service operations. This as per the company is part of the effort to simplify its organisation and use artificial intelligence more effectively.
The layoffs come at a time when tech companies are increasingly reorganising teams, slowing hiring and cutting thousands of jobs as they pour billions of dollars into AI. Amazon has also announced fresh layoffs this week, while software company Monday.com is cutting one-fifth of its workforce to become an AI-first business.
Uber links layoffs to AI for the first time
Uber informed employees on Wednesday (July 22) that it would reduce around 10 per cent of roles in its community operations team, which handles customer service. The company also told remote employees in the division to relocate to one of its hub offices, in line with its return-to-office policy.
An Uber spokesperson said the company is working “to simplify operations, strengthen in-person collaboration, and continue to embrace AI”. The latest cuts mark the first time Uber has directly connected layoffs with its push to improve efficiency through artificial intelligence.
In a memo sent to employees, Megha Yethatika, Uber’s vice-president of global community operations, said the company needs a simpler structure before AI can be fully integrated. “Our organisation has become too complex and siloed,” Yethatika wrote.
The executive added that the department “has made some strides” in using AI, but said, “but to unlock this potential, we need an effective organisation to layer AI on. We cannot scale frontier technology on top of fragmented processes”.
Second restructuring in less than two months
The latest job cuts are Uber’s second major restructuring exercise in less than two months. In June, the company eliminated 23 per cent of its people division after appointing a new president for the department. Those cuts represented less than one per cent of Uber’s global workforce of around 34,000 employees.
Earlier this year, Uber also said it would slow hiring because of its growing use of AI inside the company. Even so, Uber continues to recruit for more than 500 positions listed on its careers page, including engineering roles that support its expanding robotaxi partnerships.
AI is changing hiring across Big Tech
Uber is far from alone. Across the technology industry, companies are increasingly citing artificial intelligence as a reason to simplify organisations, reduce headcount and shift investments toward AI development.
Financial technology company Block and cloud computing giant Oracle are among businesses that have recently linked job reductions to AI-related restructuring.
Amazon cuts more jobs in AI division
Amazon has also announced another round of layoffs on Wednesday, this time affecting parts of its Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) division.
The company did not reveal how many employees lost their jobs in the latest round, but workers under several AGI leaders reported the cuts on online forums on Wednesday.
According to Reuters, the layoffs come just months after Amazon eliminated around 16,000 jobs across different teams in January.
The latest reductions are part of a much larger restructuring effort. Since October 2022, Amazon has cut more than 30,000 jobs through multiple rounds of layoffs.
Despite the reductions, the company said AI remains central to its future plans. “We’ve been building large AI models for several years, and it remains one of the most important things we’re working on,” an Amazon spokesperson told Reuters. Amazon said it is prioritising projects that are expected to deliver the greatest value to customers.
Monday.com joins AI-first shift
Work management software company Monday.com has also announced sweeping job cuts. The company is reducing around 20 per cent of its global workforce, affecting nearly 620 employees, as it restructures itself around what it describes as an AI-first strategy. The company said the move is intended to shape its next phase of growth focusing on how businesses across the technology sector are increasingly redesigning their organisations around artificial intelligence.
