Uber Cuts 23% of People Division as CEO Khosrowshahi Says "Changes Are Necessary"

Uber is eliminating 23% of jobs in its people division — encompassing human resources and recruitment staff — as the company moves to streamline operations under newly appointed president Jill Hazelbaker.

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi announced the cuts in an internal memo, writing that the "changes are necessary to maximize the effectiveness of the People team and the enormous potential ahead of us."

The company declined to disclose a precise headcount figure, but a spokesperson confirmed the affected positions represent "well under 1%" of Uber's 34,000-person global workforce.

Hazelbaker, who was promoted to president and chief corporate affairs officer last month, framed the restructuring as an effort to build a "more connected, modern, operationally excellent organization." In a separate note to affected teams, she described some segments as having become "complex and fragmented, with overlapping responsibilities, unclear ownership, and teams operating too far from the businesses and partners they support."

Uber was explicit that the cuts were not driven by artificial intelligence — a notable caveat as many companies across the technology and services sectors cite AI-driven automation as justification for workforce reductions.

The layoffs arrive alongside separate scrutiny of Uber's internal AI spending. The company this week confirmed it has placed tiered caps on employee expenditures for agentic tools. The base spending tier is set at $1,500 per month, with higher limits available depending on need and role. A spokesperson described these as "soft limits" focused on agentic and coding technology, with budgets set on a per-tool basis.

"We have had spend tiers on some agentic AI tools for several months," the spokesperson wrote in an email.

The spending controls come after Uber's tech chief previously acknowledged the company had exceeded its full-year 2026 AI budget within just four months.

Uber joins a lengthening list of major employers trimming workforce segments in 2026, even as the company continues to invest heavily in automation and AI-powered efficiency tools — a tension the people-team reduction underscores directly.

With Hazelbaker's mandate now extending across both corporate affairs and the restructured people function, the coming months will test whether the consolidated leadership structure delivers the operational clarity the company says it is seeking.

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