Uber is cutting approximately 3,300 jobs, around 10% of its global workforce, in a sweeping restructuring that chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi framed as a structural overhaul rather than a response to any weakness in the business.

Khosrowshahi broke the news to staff in a companywide email, acknowledging that five-plus years of rapid growth, during which Uber’s revenue nearly tripled, had left the company tangled in its own complexity. Too many management layers, too much internal coordination and fragmented team ownership had created an organisation that was slowing itself down. The fix, he argued, is a leaner structure that puts more time and resource into building rather than managing.

The cuts will reduce the management population by 20%, with some managers moving into individual contributor roles rather than leaving outright. Total headcount will fall to just under 30,000, roughly where Uber stood in 2021. The company is also cutting nearly half the number of teams with only one or two members and reducing the share of employees sitting more than seven reporting layers from the CEO.

The restructuring goes beyond headcount. Uber is consolidating its workforce into fewer office hubs and tightening its remote working policy sharply, with only around 1% of staff permitted to work remotely going forward. The majority will be expected to follow the existing hybrid requirement of at least three days a week in the office.

Several teams are being merged in the process. The three separate delivery operations covering restaurants, retail and the company’s white-label service will be brought under unified management, while core engineering and science functions are being consolidated to align with structures already in place across other parts of the business.

Any savings generated are earmarked for reinvestment. Khosrowshahi pointed to drivers, couriers, merchants and Uber’s autonomous vehicle ambitions as the priority destinations. The company has already committed more than $10 billion to robotaxi partnerships and has placed strategic investments in firms including Avride, Nuro and Rivian.

Markets took the news in their stride. Uber shares shed earlier losses and climbed as much as 1.7% in premarket trading following the announcement, suggesting investors are broadly comfortable with the direction of travel.