Uber has closed down Mumbai office permanently as part of a global cost-cutting measure
COVID-19 Impact: The ride-hailing app Uber has closed down its Mumbai office as part of a global cost-cutting measure. Uber has wind up as many as 45 offices around the world as part of global cost cuts.
According to media reports, The ride-sharing service, however, will continue for users in Mumbai. The employees working in the Mumbai office have been asked to work from home till December 2020. It is not clear if the employees will be moved to another office in Mumbai next year
Uber’s Mumbai office employed about 25 permanent employees and over 150 contract staff, most of whom will be impacted by the move, sources said. Some of the employees, however, will continue with the company, especially in the roles of operations and policy.
Uber had already laid-off employees in India and affected 600 employees across segments, including customer and driver support, business development, legal, finance, policy, and marketing verticals. And similarly, rival Ola also fired nearly 1,400 employees in May as its revenue took a hit amid coronavirus-induced lockdown.
Uber’s Mumbai office closure comes almost a month after the ride-hailing firm announced a global downsizing exercise that affected around 6,700 employees worldwide.
Recently, Dara Khosrowshai, Uber CEO, in a letter to employees in May, announced the decision to close 45 offices globally. In fact, the APAC office in Singapore is also being closed down and the company had also made Uber India head Pradeep Parameswaran made APAC head in June.
Uber has fired a total of 6,700 employees across the world and with this 25% of its global workforce is now out of job. Last month, Uber made a video call to these employees via zoom, saying that the COVID-19 Pandemic has become a major challenge.
In India Uber has its headquarters in Gurugram, and two tech centres in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Last month, Ola and Uber had resumed services in Mumbai despite the city being one of the most affected by COVID-19.
