Skip to main content

Uber's top engineer is leaving the ride-hailing giant as the coronavirus throws its core taxi business into turmoil (UBER)

* Uber's chief technology officer, Thuan Pham, has resigned effective May 16, the company said Tuesday. * Pham, who joined the company in 2013, was one of the last remaining executives hired by ousted founder Travis Kalanick. * The Information reported that Uber was planning to lay off up to 5,400 people to save costs as its core ride-hailing business is decimated by stay-at-home orders around the world.  * An Uber representative said the company was looking at "every possible scenario" for weathering the crisis.  * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Uber's chief technology officer and longest-serving executive, Thuan Pham, has resigned effective May 16, the company said Tuesday, as the company reportedly mulls further cost cutting to weather the coronavirus pandemic. "While the work is never done, I feel comfortable hanging up my hat at a time when the Uber Engineering team is at peak productivity, we have built robust system scale and stability, and are well prepared to face the future," he said in a press release filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. "This has been a labor of love for me, and I am so proud of what we have done as a team." Pham joined Uber as its chief technology officer in 2013 under ousted founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick, who exited the company's board after selling his remaining stake in December. The Information's Amir Efrati reported Tuesday that the company was considering further layoffs of up to 5,400 people, citing a person familiar with the matter who said the plan was not yet confirmed. The layoffs could represent up to 20% of Uber's 27,000-person workforce and save the company up to $1 billion in expenses, according to The Information. In response to a question about the possible job cuts, an Uber representative said in a statement: "As you would expect, the company is looking at every possible scenario to ensure we get to the other side of this crisis in a stronger position than ever." In recent weeks, hundreds of open jobs have disappeared from Uber's career webpage, which now shows zero open roles at the company.  As the coronavirus pandemic precipitated shelter-in-place orders throughout most of the world, Uber's core ride-hailing business shrank to about 20% of its usual volume, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told analysts in late March. Private data suggested the decline could be even greater, to the tune of 94%, Business Insider reported earlier this month. To make up for the losses, Uber has leaned heavily into Uber Eats, which was already growing quickly as a major revenue source before the global slowdown. On the call in March, Uber said sign-ups by restaurants in the Seattle area (then one of the hardest-hit US cities) had increased up to 10 times the usual amount. Uber is set to report its first-quarter financial performance, of which only the latter weeks were affected by the pandemic, on May 7. The company withdrew its financial forecasts — including its estimate of an adjusted profit in 2020 — on April 16. "Given the evolving nature of COVID-19 and the uncertainty it has caused for every industry in every part of the world, it is impossible to predict with precision the pandemic's cumulative impact on our future financial results," Uber said at the time. Are you an Uber employee? We want to hear from you. Get in touch with this reporter at grapier@businessinsider.com, or via secure methods that can be found here. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Tax Day is now July 15 — this is what it's like to do your own taxes for the very first time
https://bit.ly/3f6d4Qn

Popular posts from this blog

SpaceX has a 'go' from NASA to return 2 astronauts to Earth on Sunday as Hurricane Isaias threatens several Florida splashdown locations

* NASA on Saturday gave SpaceX a "go" to undock the company's first crewed space mission, called Demo-2, and land it on Sunday evening. * Hurricane Isaias complicated original plans to return two astronauts to Earth aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship in the Atlantic Ocean. * Elon Musk's aerospace company may now try to splash down NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley in the Gulf of Mexico. * Two out of seven total landing sites near Florida must have good weather conditions, and NASA has until about 5 p.m. ET on Saturday to call off the undocking. * Should the weather worsen, NASA and SpaceX can try again a day later or some other date over the next two months. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley have a "go" to return to Earth this weekend and wrap up an historic space mission for both NASA and SpaceX.  Behnken and Hurley launched to orbit aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon vehic...

Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck London fintech Lanistar used to raise $19 million at a $190 million valuation

* London-based fintech startup Lanistar has raised a £15 million ($19 million) funding round from Milaya Capital.  * Founded in 2019, Lanistar is building a personal financial management platform that will launch later in 2020.  * "We're expecting a huge amount of growth upon our launch and have already seen strong interest among our sign ups," Gurhan Kiziloz, founder and CEO of Lanistar, told Business Insider. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.  The coronavirus lockdown in the UK has brought the importance of managing money into sharp relief. A recent study from Money.com shows that 71% of UK households have saved cash during lockdown, and, with uncertainty about jobs and the economy looming, money management is now front of mind for many. Lanistar, a banking platform with a focus on personal finance, is one company offering tools for consumers to better manage their money. It has just raised a £15 million ($19 million) funding round from Mil...

How to send your location on Snapchat to your friends through the app's Snap Map feature

* You can send your location on Snapchat to a single friend or to several users in a group.   * To send a location on Snapchat, you'll need to visit your friendship history with a user and locate the "Send My Location" feature.  * Once you send a location on Snapchat to a friend, they can tap it and zoom in to see where you are.  * Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories. Whether you want to share the location of your favorite restaurant or the address of your new apartment, you can easily send your location on Snapchat to your friends.  You can do this using the Snap Map and will even be prompted to select who you want to share you location with the first time you use the app feature. You can choose to share your location with your mutual friends, a list of friends with exceptions, or a small group of selected friends.  To send your location directly to a mutual Snapchat friend, you must visit your chat history through your friends li...