Uber said Wednesday that it will cut 3,700 jobs due to a sharp decline in its ride-hailing business brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
Uber made the job cut announcement in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Uber said the positions being eliminated would come from its customer support and recruiting teams, and that it would incur about $20 million in severance and benefits costs related to the layoffs.
The company said the move was being made “in response to the economic challenges and uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the company’s business.” The job cuts equal about 14% of Uber’s total workforce.
In addition to the job cuts, Uber said Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi would waive the remainder of his base salary for the year. In 2019, Khosrowshahi received a base salary of $1 million.
Uber and its top rival, Lyft, have both seen their ride-hailing businesses eviscerated by a dropoff in rides since coronavirus cases began rising in March and shelter-in-place orders went into effect in an effort to contain the virus. Uber and Lyft both have both suspended shared ride service, and on Tuesday, Lyft announced a new option for cheaper fares for people willing to wait longer for their rides to arrive.