Uber Starts Collective Layoff in Portugal, Job Count Not Disclosed
Uber has begun a collective dismissal in Portugal under a plan to cut 10% of its global staff. The local team numbers about 600 to 650 people.
Uber has started a collective dismissal (despedimento coletivo, the Portuguese legal procedure for laying off a group of workers at once) at its Portuguese operation. An official company source confirmed the move to the business newspaper ECO on Friday, but Uber Portugal has not said how many people will lose their jobs.
The cuts follow a plan announced in September by Uber’s chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, to reduce the company’s workforce worldwide by 10%. For staff at Uber’s Portuguese arm, it is the first confirmation that the global plan reaches them.
How many people work for Uber in Portugal
Reports differ on the size of the local team. ECO, which first reported the dismissal, put Uber’s staff in Portugal at about 650 people. Observador, citing ECO, gave a figure of about 600. Neither outlet reported how many of those jobs are affected, and the company has not disclosed it.
ECO said it asked Uber Portugal in September how the global announcement would affect the team in Portugal and got no answer at the time. The confirmation that the process had begun came this week, still without numbers.
What Uber’s chief executive told staff in September
Khosrowshahi set out the plan in a message to employees. According to ECO, he described a series of organizational changes across the company: removing some layers of management, simplifying how teams are structured and redefining Uber’s global strategy.
He gave two goals for the changes. One was to make Uber simpler and faster, with more room to invest in the future. The other was to generate savings that the company would put back into growth, innovation and the skills it expects to need most in the coming years. He also said Uber wanted to focus its investment and talent on what he called its “biggest opportunities.”
In the same message, the chief executive acknowledged that the decisions were difficult and said they would help the company become stronger, ECO reported.
What it means for workers in Portugal
Uber has confirmed only that this procedure has started. The number of positions cut, the teams involved and the timing of any exits in Portugal have not been made public.
The reports concern people employed directly by Uber’s Portuguese arm. The sources do not say whether the cuts affect the ride-hailing or delivery services that customers in Lisbon and other cities use, and Uber has not announced any change to those services.
For the wider job market in Portugal, the case adds a large international technology company to the employers trimming staff as part of a global reorganization. Uber is a US-based multinational, and the 10% reduction was announced for its workforce worldwide.
What is still unknown
- How many of the roughly 600 to 650 people working for Uber in Portugal will be dismissed.
- Which departments or functions in Portugal are affected.
- When the dismissals will take effect.
Uber Portugal has so far confirmed only that the process is under way, according to ECO and Observador.
Sources: Observador, ECO
