Uber lays off 400 people from its marketing team
- Uber on Monday laid off around 400 people in its marketing team, about one-third of the company's 1,200 department members.
- Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi in June combined the company's marketing, communications and policy teams.
- The money-losing company blames its losses partly on costly promotions, crafted from the marketing department, to attract riders and drivers.
Uber on Monday laid off around 400 people from its marketing team, or about one-third of the company's 1,200 people in the department, as the ride-hailing service continues to struggle to find its footing as a public company.
About 75 Uber offices around the world will be affected by the cuts, which were announced internally Monday. The decision follows a leadership shake-up in June, when CEO Dara Khosrowshahi combined the company's marketing, communications and policy teams.
Khosrowshahi installed Jill Hazelbaker to lead up marketing and public affairs in June. On Monday they announced a more centralized structure for marketing and said they want to build a consistent brand narrative across audiences, products and regions.
Uber did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The money-losing startup has been plagued with questions on whether it can ever turn a profit since its underwhelming public debut in May. In its first earnings as a public company, Uber reported losing $1 billion on $3.1 billion in revenue for the first three months of 2019.
Uber admits that it may be years before it ever is profitable and has blamed its losses partly on its costly promotions to attract riders and drivers. By contrast, the company and its supporters are betting that the disruptive subscription business model will eventually pay off.
Uber shares remained mostly unchanged on Monday, dipping 1.5% to $43.85.
