Uber Freight cuts 150 jobs, about 3% of the unit’s head count

Uber Freight has laid off 150 employees, or about 3% of the segment’s total head count.

The layoffs affect the division’s digital brokerage team, Uber Freight CEO Lior Ron said Monday in a message viewed by CNBC. They are the first layoffs since 2020, in the early weeks of Covid lockdowns.

Uber launched its freight unit in 2017 with a belief that trucking companies and laden goods could be matched using the same concept that underpinned the company’s ride-hailing technology. The unit booked $1.8 billion in revenue for the third quarter of 2022, up 336% year over year.

“As you know, the logistics market is currently facing a number of headwinds which has impacted our customer base as well as the overall industry,” Ron told employees. “We accelerated hiring last year within certain areas of our Brokerage business, planning for a different economic reality, but the volumes did not materialize as expected.”

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos that he isn’t planning companywide layoffs.

The cuts follow far deeper tech layoffs at Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and Twitter. In November, delivery service DoorDash laid off 1,250 workers, or 6% of its head count, weeks after ride-hailing platform Lyft cut 13% of its head count.

Laid-off employees “will be extended departure packages and support that includes severance, extended healthcare and 2022 bonus payment, outplacement and career support, and if applicable, immigration services,” Ron said.

Uber releases its 2022 full-year earnings on Feb. 8.