Uber Cuts 23% of Jobs in HR “People” Division

• The cuts target Uber's recruitment and HR arm, with leadership citing 'complex and fragmented' operations with overlapping responsibilities and unclear ownership
• Uber recently exhausted its annual AI budget in just months and now limits employees to $1,500 monthly token spending per AI coding tool
• The company joins a growing list of tech firms conducting layoffs, though Uber has not specifically cited AI automation as a reason for these cuts

Summary: Uber Cuts 23% of Jobs in HR "People" Division

Uber is eliminating 23% of roles in its "People" division, the company's recruitment and human resources arm, according to a June 3, 2026 memo from CEO Dara Khosrowshahi obtained by CNBC. The cuts represent under 1% of Uber's total 34,000-person workforce.

Key Details:

• The layoffs target organizational inefficiencies, with President Jill Hazelbaker citing "complex and fragmented" operations with "overlapping responsibilities" and "unclear ownership"
• Uber joins a growing wave of tech sector layoffs, though unlike many peers, it did not cite AI automation as a justification

AI Cost Pressures:

Despite not linking layoffs to AI replacement, Uber faces significant AI-related financial challenges. The company recently:

• Exhausted its annual AI budget within months
• Implemented $1,500 monthly caps per employee on AI coding tool token spending (applies per tool)
• Provided dashboards for employees to track usage and request exceptions
• The limits specifically target agentic coding software

Market Context:

Other companies including Meta and Oracle are reportedly implementing similar AI spending controls. The broader issue reflects challenges in enterprise AI billing models, which charge by token, API call, or inference cycle rather than traditional per-user SaaS pricing, creating less transparent and more elastic cost structures.

The layoffs highlight operational streamlining efforts at Uber while simultaneously revealing the growing financial burden of AI adoption across the technology sector.