Uber said to cut marketing costs, slow hiring: report

Uber will cut hiring and reduce spending on its marketing and incentives operations, CNBC reported Monday, citing a letter from Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi.

The ride-hailing company is the latest company to rein in the cost of a lean investment model after Facebook owner Meta said last week it was slowing growth in its workforce.

According to the CNBC report, Khosrowshahi said Uber’s strategy shift was a necessary response to the “seismic shift” in investor sentiment.

“The least efficient marketing and incentive spend is withdrawn. We will treat hiring as a privilege and will weigh when and where we hire new staff,” Khosrowshahi is quoted as saying in the report.

Uber said last week its driver base is at a post-pandemic high, and the company expects this to continue without significant stimulus investment, a sharp contrast to competitor Lyft, which said it needs to spend more on labor.

According to the CNBC report, the company will now focus on generating profitability based on free cash flow rather than adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

The ride-hailing giant expects “significant positive cash flows” for the full year, according to its latest earnings report.

Khosrowshahi added in his letter that Uber’s grocery delivery and freight business needs to grow faster, the CNBC report added.

Uber did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

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