Uber confirms firing of 600 employees in India

Uber India has laid off 25% of its workforce or 600 employees in the country as it witnessed a sharp decline in its business due to a nationwide lockdown.

The ride hailing firm was in the process of firing 500-700 employees from its India office for the past two-three weeks. Entrackr had exclusively reported the development on May 6.

“Around 600 full time positions across driver and rider support, as well as other functions, are being impacted. These reductions are part of previously announced global job cuts this month,” said Pradeep Parameswaran, President for Uber’s India and South Asia businesses via the company’s spokesperson.

“I want to apologise to departing colleagues and extend my heartfelt thanks to them for their contributions to Uber, the riders, and the driver partners we serve in India,” he added.

According to the company, the impacted employees will receive a minimum salary of 10 weeks. Besides, it will extend medical insurance coverage for the next six months and staff can retain their Uber-allocated laptops.

Earlier this month, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told staff to expect a mass layoff in the next two weeks. As a result, the firm has sacked around 6700 staff globally.

The sudden drop in revenue has forced many businesses, especially travel, hospitality and ride hailing firms, to reduce their workforce and conserve capital.

Only last week, Uber’s India rival Ola had laid off 35% of its workforce or 1,400 employees as the company has been going through a tough time due to the Covid-19 lockdown. According to the Bengaluru-based company, it has been facing over 90% business loss in the past two months.