Uber lays off a THIRD of it’s 1,200 global marketing department

Less than three months after debuting its stock on the public market, Uber announced Monday that it has slashed its marketing department by a third, laying off around 400 employees globally.

In an internal email sent to staffers, Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi cited a ‘deep dissatisfaction’ among members of the department as justification for reducing team’s headcount from 1,200 to 800.

‘[M]any of our teams are too big, which creates overlapping work, makes for unclear decision owners, and can lead to mediocre results. As a company, we can do more to keep the bar high, and expect more of ourselves and each other,’ Khosrowshahi’s email read, according to the LA Times.

Uber has 24,494 employees globally, half of which are in the US, and the ride-hailing company’s latest overhaul will reduce their total workforce by about 1.6 percent.

In an internal email sent to staffers, Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi cited a ‘deep dissatisfaction’ among members of the department as justification for reducing team’s headcount from 1,200 to 800

Uber has 24,494 employees globally, half of which are in the US, and the ride-hailing company¿s latest overhaul will reduce their total workforce by about 1.6 percent

Uber has 24,494 employees globally, half of which are in the US, and the ride-hailing company’s latest overhaul will reduce their total workforce by about 1.6 percent

Under Khosrowshahi’s tenure, Uber – which has never turned a profit – has actively worked to stem its losses which reached $1 billion in the first quarter of 2019.

According to the Times, the company also spent $1 billion in sales and marketing during the same time period which was an increase of $323 million from the first quarter of last year.

Monday’s layoffs come as the latest shake-up to Uber since it began publicly trading in May. During its journey to the market Wall Street executives repeatedly voiced doubts about whether the company would ever be profitable.

After all ride-hailing, which largely relies on providers spending vast sums of money to recruit drivers and subsidize discounted trips to fend off competitors, is a costly business model.

Such doubts ultimately impacted Uber’s IPO, seeing the company’s stock tumble 7.6 percent on its first day of trading.

Ever since, Khrosrowshahi has continued to make drastic changes to the company’s operations, which began with the ousting of two members of its executive team, COO Barney Harford and Chief Marketing Officer Rebecca Messina, in June.

Under Khosrowshahi¿s tenure, Uber ¿ which has never turned a profit ¿ has actively worked to stem its losses, which reached $1 billion in the first quarter of 2019. According to the Times, the company also spent $1 billion in sales and marketing during the same time period which was an increase of $323 million from the first quarter of last year

Under Khosrowshahi’s tenure, Uber – which has never turned a profit – has actively worked to stem its losses, which reached $1 billion in the first quarter of 2019. According to the Times, the company also spent $1 billion in sales and marketing during the same time period which was an increase of $323 million from the first quarter of last year

Ms. Messina’s role was eradicated, and the marketing team was reorganized under Uber’s communications lead, Jill Hazelbaker.

‘Marketing is so important to our business, and our brand continues to be challenged,’ Khosrowshahi said in an email at the time, explaining Messina’s departure after just nine months.

Following Monday’s announcement the company saw stock prices drop again by 1.4 percent.

The layoffs are designed to centralize Uber’s marketing efforts going forward, Khosrowshahi said. He described the team as being over-bloated, leading to a lack of clear understanding and effective decision-making.

‘These changes are incredibly difficult to make because they have a huge impact on people’s lives,’ Khosrowshahi said in his email. ‘Decision-making is unclear, which means that we are not moving at speed or delivering the results the business needs. Separately, we have replicated core functions at the regional (and sometimes country) level, which leads to reinvention rather than iteration, as well as inconsistencies in our brand narrative,’

‘Finally, there is deep dissatisfaction within the team, which shows in Marketing’s Pulse Survey results—the lowest scores of any team at the company.’

Monday's layoffs come as the latest shake-up to Uber since it began publicly trading in May. During its journey to the market Wall Street executives repeatedly voiced doubts about whether the company would ever be able to make money. After all ride-hailing, which largely relies on providers spending vast sums of money to recruit drivers and subsidize discounted trips to fend off competition, is a costly business model

Monday’s layoffs come as the latest shake-up to Uber since it began publicly trading in May. During its journey to the market Wall Street executives repeatedly voiced doubts about whether the company would ever be able to make money. After all ride-hailing, which largely relies on providers spending vast sums of money to recruit drivers and subsidize discounted trips to fend off competition, is a costly business model

Khosrowshahi also warned the company’s streamlining may lead to other similar changes being enacted in different departments.

‘It’s also critical that we look at the big picture, admit when we aren’t where we need to be as a company, and, most importantly, get back on track,’ Khosrowshahi told employees. ‘Today, there’s a general sense that while we’ve grown fast, we’ve slowed down.’

‘As a company, we can do more to keep the bar high, and expect more of ourselves and each other,’ he continued. ‘So, put simply, we need to get our edge back. Being fast wins; coupling that with strong alignment and exceptional talent makes magic—and we need magic to deliver on our world-changing mission.’

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk