Uber lays off 10 percent of its customer service team in favor of using AI

Uber’s global customer service network has been hit by layoffs in favor of AI. Uber laid off 10 percent of its customer service team and, according to Bloomberg, cited AI as the reason for the job cuts. The company also walked back its remote work policy.

An Uber spokesperson told Bloomberg that the cuts were done “to simplify operations, strengthen in-person collaboration and continue to embrace AI.” The division affected is called Community Operations, Uber’s global customer support network that spans different businesses and languages, with 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 did not say what Uber will use generative AI for within the organization that makes the layoffs necessary. However, AI agents for customer service have made great improvements lately. Voice AI has become increasingly capable of naturally communicating with customers and understanding and responding to their needs and complaints.

In addition to the job cuts, Uber reportedly asked people working remotely for the team to relocate to hub offices as part of its return-to-office mandate. It previously said it was slowing hiring due to AI use as well.

Uber joins a 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 recently reduced its workforce by 10 percent, affecting 8,000 jobs, and then moved 7,000 personnel to new organizations focused on building AI tools.