Uber to move out of Singapore office in next 12 months

Around 80% of its Rides business has been impacted by the pandemic.

Uber will be moving out of its APAC office in Singapore in the next 12 months, as the company cuts a further 3,000 more jobs and consolidates 45 of its offices globally, group CEO Dora Khosrowshahi told employees in an email.

The transport company will be moving to a new APAC hub in a yet unnamed market where they operate.

“We are closing or consolidating around 45 office locations globally, including winding down Pier 70 in San Francisco (SF) and moving some of those colleagues to our new HQ in SF,” Khosrowshahi wrote to employees.

The decision comes after Uber announced it will layoff 3,700 employees or 14% of its workforce on May 6.

Khosrowshahi said that Uber faces challenges exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which gravely impacted its Rides business.

“People are rightfully staying home, and our Rides business, our main profit generator, is down around 80%. We’re seeing some signs of a recovery, but it comes off a deep hole, with limited visibility as to its speed and shape,” Khosrowshahi stated in the email, adding that “hope is not a strategy.”

In a separate filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Uber estimates that its latest round of job cuts and office consolidations will incur approximately $240m to $311m (US$170m to US$220m) of charges.

These estimated costs include approximately $155m to 198m (US$110m to US$140m) related to severance and other termination benefits (excluding stock-based compensation expense), and up to approximately $92.1m to $120m (US$65m to US$80m) related to site closures.