- General
- August 10, 2019
- 4 minutes read
Uber Said To Have Paused Engineer Hiring As Losses Rise
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch According to a piece from Yahoo Finance, Uber, which…
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| Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi
Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch
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According to a piece from Yahoo Finance, Uber, which just released its Q2 results that showed significant losses, has paused hiring for its engineering teams in the U.S. and Canada, having even cancelled already scheduled on-site interviews for tech roles this week. In emails [reviewed by Yahoo Finance] that was sent to job interviewees, Uber recruiters explained that “there have been some changes” and that hiring opportunities have been “put on hold for now,”.
The hiring pause comes shortly after Uber laid off 400 persons from its marketing department. The layoffs affected marketing personnel across Uber offices worldwide. Such hiring pause likely correlates to significant losses by Uber, which lost $5.2 billion in the second quarter of this year, although majority of that ($3.9 billion) was due to employee stock-based compensation. But still, $1.3 billion in losses [minus the stock-based compensation] is still very significant.
Uber hasn’t turned a profit for years and, now being a public company, has to scramble to prove to Wall Street that it’s on track to reach profitability. In the second quarter of this year, Uber recorded 14% year-on-year growth, compared to 20% in the first quarter. This doesn’t sound quite well considering its gross bookings grew 31% (to $15.8 billion from $12 billion in Q2 last year) during that same period.
Still, Uber impressed with revenue growth for Uber Eats, its food delivery arm. Revenue from that segment grew 72% year-on-year to $595 million in the second quarter of this year. On the whole, Uber recorded $3.17 billion in revenue for the quarter.
On an earnings call with analysts, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was keen on his confidence in the ride-hailing company’s business. “I think that myself and my team are well prepared, but I think we’re very, very early in this incredible journey,” He said during the Thursday earnings call.
