GoKawiilUber has laid off 10 percent of its customer service team, and according to Bloomberg, the company cited AI as the reason for the job cuts. An Uber spokesperson told the publication that the cuts were done "to simplify operations, strengthen in-person collaboration and continue to embrace AI." The division affected by the layoffs is called Community Operations, Uber's global customer support network across its different businesses and across languages. It has teams for specific regions and countries that work closely with local businesses and drivers.
"Our organization has become too complex and siloed," Megha Yethadka, Uber's vice president of global community operations, reportedly told her team in a memo. Yethadka added that the department "has made some strides" in using AI, but to be able to scale its use, it needs an "effective organization to layer AI on."
Bloomberg didn't say what Uber will use generative AI for within the organization that makes it necessary to lay off people. However, AI agents for customer service have made great improvements lately. Voice AI has become better and better at being able to naturally communicate with customers and understand and respond to their needs and complaints. In addition to announcing job cuts, Uber also reportedly asked people working for the team remotely to relocate to hub offices as part of its return-to-office mandate. It previously said that it was slowing hiring due to AI use, as well.
Uber joins the growing list of companies that point to AI as the reason for layoffs. In June, Oracle cut 21,000 roles worldwide, citing the "adoption and deployment of AI technologies." Snap laid off around 1,000 workers in April, seemingly to replace them with AI. Meta also recently reduced its workforce by 10 percent, a move that affected 8,000 jobs, and then moved 7,000 personnel to new organizations focused on building AI tools.