Uber reduces its HR division by 23% following the appointment of new president Hazelbaker.

      Uber is downsizing its People and Places division by 23% under the newly appointed president, Jill Hazelbaker. The company claims this restructuring has no connection to AI, despite reducing hiring in other areas due to its internal adoption of AI technologies.

      Just three weeks into her extended role as president and chief corporate affairs officer, Jill Hazelbaker is implementing cuts. On Wednesday, Uber announced it would be eliminating 23% of positions within the People and Places division, which oversees human resources, recruitment, workplace facilities, and company culture.

      These reductions, which primarily impact senior positions, account for less than 1% of Uber’s total 34,000 corporate employees globally, as reported by CNBC. The company’s roughly 10 million drivers are considered independent contractors and are not included in this figure.

      A spokesperson informed Bloomberg that the layoffs are not related to artificial intelligence, a point Uber seemingly wishes to emphasize given the wider tech industry’s significant job losses attributed to AI-focused efficiencies.

      Hazelbaker, who previously managed marketing, communications, and public policy, was promoted on May 11 after Nikki Krishnamurthy’s departure as chief people officer. Her new responsibilities, as confirmed by an SEC filing, now include safety operations and the People and Places organization.

      In a memo to affected teams on Wednesday, Hazelbaker noted, “As we’ve expanded, certain parts of the organization have become overly complex and fragmented, characterized by overlapping responsibilities, ambiguous ownership, and teams operating too distantly from the businesses and partners they serve.”

      CEO Dara Khosrowshahi supported the changes in a separate internal memo, stating, “These changes are essential to enhancing the effectiveness of the People team and the significant potential ahead of us.”

      Uber's emphasis that these layoffs are not linked to AI is notable because the company is indeed navigating the transformations AI introduces to its workforce. According to a report from Fortune last month, Uber exhausted its entire AI coding budget for 2026 in just four months after encouraging engineers to use AI tools. Nearly 95% of Uber's engineers reportedly engage with AI tools monthly, and approximately 70% of committed code is generated by these systems.

      Additionally, Uber announced last month plans to slow hiring directly linked to the internal adoption of AI. Despite this, the company still lists over 800 open positions, particularly in roles aimed at commercializing robotaxi partnerships with firms like Rivian, Wayve, and Nuro.

      The distinction Uber is making—suggesting that HR layoffs are structural while engineering hiring reflects AI’s influence—is increasingly common in the industry. Recent rulings by Chinese courts indicate that replacing employees with AI does not constitute legal grounds for termination, highlighting the tension between corporate restructuring explanations and the actual motivations behind them.

      Furthermore, the layoffs are not the only changes impacting Uber’s HR department. Employees in the People and Places division who were previously permitted to work remotely are now being instructed to adhere to the company’s three-day-per-week office policy, which initiated in June 2025.

      This policy faced considerable internal backlash when introduced, as employees expressed their dissatisfaction on internal platforms. In response, Khosrowshahi directly stated that employees who valued remote work would “need to make a choice.”

      It's notable that this is not the first reduction within Uber's People team; in 2023, the recruiting team and the online grocery subsidiary Cornershop were also targeted. The current cuts align with the same rationale: streamline functions supporting the workforce while continuing to invest in technology that may ultimately decrease the necessary workforce.

      Following the announcement, Uber's shares slid 0.6% to $71.21 during Wednesday morning trading after recovering from earlier losses. The market seems to recognize that cutting HR does not equate to cutting the core business, even if those affected by the layoffs may reasonably conclude otherwise.