Uber cutting costs in response to ‘seismic shift,’ CEO tells staff

Uber is planning to cut back on costs and slow hiring in response to a “seismic shift” in the market, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told employees in an email Sunday evening.

“The average employee at Uber is barely over 30, which means you’ve spent your career in a long and unprecedented bull run,” he wrote. 

“This next period will be different, and it will require a different approach,” Khosrowshahi continued. “Rest assured, we are not going to put our heads in the sand.”

The email was first obtained by CNBC. A spokesperson for the company confirmed the veracity of the note to The Hill.

Tech stocks have dropped steadily over the last few weeks, and although Uber had a strong first quarter in terms of revenue investors are being cautious.

In response to that “uncertainty,” Khosrowshahi said the company plans to treat hiring as a “privilege” and cut spending on marketing.

“We have to make sure our unit economics work before we go big,” the Uber CEO wrote. “The least efficient marketing and incentive spend will be pulled back.”

“We will be even more hardcore about costs across the board,” he added.

Khosrowshahi signaled the company will shift from targets based on adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to ones based on free cash flow.

He also noted the company’s food delivery service, Uber Eats, “should be growing even faster” and that its freight businesses “needs to get even bigger.”