By Annette Ikponmwonba | September 10, 2026
Keypoints
• Uber will limit fully remote work to about 1% of its workforce.
• The company is asking most existing remote employees to return to an office.
• Uber is retaining its hybrid policy, requiring employees to work from an office three days a week.
• The move comes as the company plans to cut about 3,300 jobs.
• Uber expects the restructuring to reduce its management ranks by about 20%.
• The company is also reducing the number of micro-teams by about half.
• Uber says the changes are aimed at improving collaboration, problem-solving and organisational efficiency.
Main Story
Uber is limiting fully remote work to about one per cent of its workforce as part of a broader restructuring that will eliminate about 3,300 jobs, The ride-hailing company’s Chief Executive Officer, Dara Khosrowshahi, disclosed the change in a memo to employees published on Uber’s website.
Khosrowshahi said most employees who currently work fully remotely would be asked to move to an office, while the company would retain its hybrid working arrangement, “We are also asking the vast majority of remote employees to move to an office, and going forward, only 1% of employees will be remote,” he said.
Uber did not disclose the number of employees currently working fully remotely, meaning the memo does not indicate how many workers will be affected by the return to office directive, Under the company’s hybrid policy, employees are required to work from an office three days a week.
Khosrowshahi said the decision was influenced by the benefits Uber had observed from employees working together physically, particularly in collaboration, problem-solving and the development of early career employees, “The benefits of sitting together, collaborating in person, and solving problems as a team are clearer than ever in our post COVID world,” he stated.
The CEO also announced plans to establish clearer principles for where roles and teams should be based, with the aim of concentrating employees in a smaller number of key hubs, Global teams will be concentrated in major hubs such as New York and San Francisco, while regional teams will operate from designated regional hubs. Local teams will be based in country hubs, while technology teams will be concentrated in technology hubs.
Uber will also prioritise having managers and their teams working in the same locations wherever possible, particularly for employees who are early in their careers, The return to office policy forms part of a wider restructuring designed to simplify Uber’s organisation, reduce management layers and eliminate small teams with limited numbers of direct reports.
Khosrowshahi said Uber had grown substantially over the past five years, but the expansion had resulted in additional organisational layers, greater coordination requirements and more fragmented ownership, As part of the restructuring, Uber expects to reduce its management ranks by about 20 per cent and cut the number of micro teams, consisting of managers with only one or two direct reports, by about half.
The changes represent the company’s biggest workforce reduction since the COVID-19 pandemic, In Nigeria, Uber ended its ride-hailing operations in September after about 12 years in the country. The exit came amid changes in the local operating environment and competition from other mobility platforms.
Uber also ended its operations in Uganda, The company began operations in Lagos in 2014 and later expanded to other Nigerian cities. Its departure leaves Bolt and other ride-hailing platforms competing for drivers and passengers in a market that has expanded significantly since Uber entered the country.
The Issues
Uber’s restructuring reflects a broader debate over remote and hybrid work, particularly as companies seek to balance flexibility with collaboration and organisational efficiency, The company is also attempting to reduce management complexity after significant growth, with fewer organisational layers and more employees working from established hubs, For affected remote workers, however, the new policy could mean relocation, longer commutes or changes to their current working arrangements.
What’s Being Said
Khosrowshahi said working together in person had produced clearer benefits for collaboration, problem-solving and the development of early-career employees, He also said the restructuring would give Uber a simpler organisational structure with clearer ownership and fewer management layers.
What’s Next
Uber will begin implementing its new workforce and workplace structure, including the return of most fully remote employees to offices, The company will also concentrate teams in key global, regional, country and technology hubs while reducing management positions and micro-teams.
Bottom Line
Uber is sharply reducing fully remote work to about 1% of its workforce while cutting around 3,300 jobs in a major restructuring. The company says the changes will simplify its organisation and improve collaboration, while its hybrid three-day office policy remains in place.
