Uber cuts 10% of its workforce and shuts down in Nigeria and Uganda

Uber is cutting about 3,300 roles, roughly 10% of its workforce, and shutting down in Nigeria and Uganda as it redirects spending towards robotaxis. Its internal memo says everyone affected has been notified except where local process applies, which in the EU means consultation with workers’ representatives and a 30-day wait after notifying the authorities.

Uber is cutting about 3,300 roles, roughly 10% of its staff. It is also shutting down in Nigeria and Uganda, Bloomberg reported.

The stated reason is structure rather than performance. Dara Khosrowshahi’s memo cites more layers, more coordination and fragmented ownership, and the changes cut manager numbers by 20%. Micro-teams of one or two people are halved.

One sentence in that memo is written for Europe. Everyone affected has already been notified, it says, “except in countries where we will follow the required local process“.

That clause is doing legal work rather than being polite. Notifying people first is not available to an employer in the European Union, whatever the commercial logic.

The Collective Redundancies Directive requires consultation with workers’ representatives, with a view to reaching an agreement, before dismissals happen.

The information has to be supplied in writing. Reasons, timing, the number and categories of workers, the selection criteria and how compensation is calculated.

Then the state has to be told. Redundancies take effect no earlier than 30 days after the competent public authority is notified, and it uses that window to look for alternatives.

So Uber’s own sentence marks the boundary. Elsewhere it told people it was done, and in Europe it has to open a conversation it cannot present as already concluded.

The money freed up is going to autonomy. Uber has committed more than $10B to robotaxi partnerships, and TNW reported the London waitlist it opened with Wayve.

Analysts put the annual saving at $1.5B to $2B. Bloomberg Intelligence notes heavier autonomous vehicle spending may absorb much of it near term. Headcount falls to just under 30,000, roughly its 2021 level.

The African retreat has a European beneficiary. Bloomberg names Estonia’s Bolt as Uber’s main competitor in Nigeria, and TNW reported it raising €220M ahead of an IPO.

Bolt is not the one leaving. Uber launched in Lagos in 2014 and its share has since been cut into by Bolt and newer local entrants.

Which is the trade being made. Uber is swapping geography for autonomy, while TNW has looked inside the expansion strategy of the rival staying put.