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posted by janrinok on Wednesday September 11 2019, @06:27PM   Printer-friendly
from the do-they-get-a-lyft-home? dept.

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Uber lays off hundreds more, this time from its engineering and product teams

Uber announced even more layoffs on Tuesday, following an earlier round in July. The ride-hailing company confirmed it's letting go of hundreds of employees in its engineering and product departments to "reset and improve how we work day to day." The total number of staff it laid off this time was 435 people, or about 8% of each department.

"We need to shift how we design our organizations: lean, exceptionally high-performing teams, with clear mandates and the ability to execute faster than our competitors," an Uber spokesman said in a statement. "Today, we're making some changes to get us back on track, which include reducing the size of some teams to ensure we are staffed appropriately against our top priorities."

The layoffs, first reported by TechCrunch, come during a rough period for Uber as it attempts to gain footing as a public company. After debuting on Wall Street in May, the company has seen plummeting stock prices, quarterly revenue loss and an exodus of high-level executives. Three of Uber's board members have stepped down since then, along with its chief operating officer and chief marketing officer.

[...] With this latest round of layoffs, the Uber spokesman said Khosrowshahi asked his management team if they were satisfied with the design of their organizations.

"After careful consideration, our engineering and product leaders concluded the answer to this question in many respects was no," the spokesman said. "Previously, to meet the demands of a hyper-growth startup, we hired rapidly and in a decentralized way." That worked in the past, the spokesman said, but it doesn't anymore.


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  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday September 11 2019, @08:30PM (4 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday September 11 2019, @08:30PM (#892887) Journal

    Is it really necessary to have engineers and product teams in order to operate a successful high tech company?

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    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 3, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 11 2019, @08:47PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 11 2019, @08:47PM (#892894)

    No [wikipedia.org]

    • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday September 11 2019, @09:53PM

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday September 11 2019, @09:53PM (#892923) Journal

      Wish I had a Touche mod point.

      --
      People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday September 11 2019, @09:33PM (1 child)

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Wednesday September 11 2019, @09:33PM (#892911)

    Is it really necessary to have engineers and product teams in order to operate a successful high tech company?

    For certain definitions of success, no.

    I've worked for a number of startups where, once the engineers completed their job and the marketing/sales wanks failed to follow through on their promises, the engineers were considered dead-weight and traded in for more sales power. I've never seen this scenario result in anything other than flameout and crash, but they still try.

    --
    🌻🌻 [google.com]
    • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday September 11 2019, @09:54PM

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday September 11 2019, @09:54PM (#892924) Journal

      (based on an old Dilbert cartoon . . .)

      What could go wrong? Just fire more engineers! It always works. Its like printing money! You can do it forever. Nothing could go wrong.

      --
      People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.