Coronavirus Crisis: Uber to Fire 600 Employees in India

Uber announced that it is laying off 600 employees in India as part of its cost-cutting measures to deal with the coronavirus impact. The action will affect approximately 25% of its workforce across the country.

Uber said affected employees would receive a minimum 10-week pay, health insurance coverage for the next six months and relocation support. They can retain their laptops and will be allowed to join the Uber talent directory.

"The impact of Covid-19 and the unpredictable nature of the recovery has left Uber India SA with no choice but to reduce the size of its workforce. Around 600 full-time positions across driver and rider support, as well as other functions, are being impacted. These reductions are part of previously announced global job cuts this month," Pradeep Parameswaran, President, Uber India and South Asia said in a statement.

"Today is an incredibly sad day for colleagues leaving the Uber family and all of us at the company. We made the decision now so we can look to the future with confidence. I want to apologize to departing colleagues and extend my heartfelt thanks to them for their contributions to Uber and the riders and driver-partners we serve in India. Each will receive a minimum 10 weeks payout, medical insurance coverage for the next six months, outplacement support, be allowed to retain their laptops and given the option to join the Uber talent directory," he further added.

Earlier this month, Uber announced it would cut 3,700 full-time jobs when Covid-19 blockades began to hurt its transportation business. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said he would give up his basic salary for the rest of the year to help the company.

Last week a Bloomberg report last said the company had decided to fire 3,000 other employees. Job cuts are done across all its divisions, including human and customer resources.

In India, Uber's rival Ola Cabs announced last week that it would lay off 1,400 employees. CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said that in the past two months its revenue from his travel, financial services and food delivery had fallen by 95%.

In the fourth phase of the shutdown, the Indian government has eased restrictions on taxi transport services, allowing Ola and Uber to resume operations. The carpooling feature, however, remains restricted.