Uber has laid off a third of its 1,200 person marketing department

Uber just laid off a third of its marketing department, cutting the number of employees from 1,200 to 800 on Monday. That’s the latest change at the ridesharing company in its efforts to cut costs since its initial public offering (IPO) in May.

It’s unclear how many of those employees affected by the layoffs are based in the United States; Uber employs nearly 25,000 people worldwide, almost half are stateside.

Is Uber sacking a third of its marketing team a sign of troubles at the ridesharing company?

When Uber went public two months ago, its stock immediately dropped by 7.6%. This seemed unsurprising to everyone but the leadership at Uber. The company hasn’t been profitable at all yet. Just like the “independent contractors” that drive for it, the company has been riding on potential earnings.

• Uber’s last quarter results showed a massive slowdown in growth, with a $1 billion loss
• Three board members have stepped down since the IPO, Ryan Graves (Uber’s first employee) in May, and Arianna Huffington and Matt Cohler last week
• Uber’s communications lead, Jill Hazelbaker, characterized the need for the layoffs as the “team had grown bloated and decision-maker was unclear.” Not that surprising, as the organizational charts for the marketing department ran to over 388 pages, according to the email she sent out to staff.

Can Uber set the right course to profitability in its GPS? Certainly not in the short-term, as Wall Street analysts are forecasting a loss of $2.09 per share next week during its second-quarter earnings call.

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Joe Rice-Jones

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