Uber Culls A Third Of Its Marketers Globally Amid Profitability Concerns
Uber has culled a third of its global marketing team as the popular ride-hailing app attempts to cut costs and streamline the business.
As reported in the New York Times, the layoffs will affect multiple offices across the globe.
The layoffs, which sees Uber’s marketing team of 1,200 dip to 800, are the latest shakeup to hit the company since it went public in May.
The ride-hailing company has been under intense scrutiny since its turbulent initial public offering two months ago, which has raised questions over its business model and whether it will ever turn a profit.
Uber lost just over one billion ($AU1.46b) during the first three months of this year according to its first published earnings report as a public company. And, as revenue growth slows for the business and it attempts to compound previous losses, Uber clearly has a big challenge on its hands to start turning a profit.
In an email to staff, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said: “We are not making these changes because marketing has become less important to Uber.
“The exact opposite is true: we are making these changes because presenting a powerful, unified, and dynamic vision to the world has never been more important.”
“Many of our teams are too big, which creates overlapping work, makes for unclear decision owners, and can lead to mediocre results.
“As a company, we can do more to keep the bar high.”
The newest wave of departures follows the exit of former CMO Rebecca Messina last month after less than a year in the role.
At the time, Khosrowshahi said Uber will combine its marketing, communications and policy teams under the leadership of Jill Hazelbaker, who is currently the senior vice-president of communications and public policy.
Khosrowshahi told staff in the email he had made the decision because it was “increasingly clear that it’s crucial for us to have a consistent, unified narrative to consumers, partners, the press and policymakers.”
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