Uber is becoming the latest technology company to announce a lease cut

Uber’s online taxi, distribution and delivery platform is the latest known technology company to announce layoffs.

CEO Dara Khosrovshahi said the company would push the hiring process as well as cut other costs due to difficult market conditions.

“We will treat hiring as a privilege and be aware of when and where we add staff,” Khosrovshahi said in an email to employees seen by CNBC. “We will be even tougher on costs in general.”

He added: “It is clear that the market is undergoing seismic change and we need to react accordingly.”

After rising to unprecedented peaks during the pandemic, the US Nasdaq Composite Index, which includes mostly technology stocks, fell for five consecutive weeks, its longest series of losses in a decade. Some investors are withdrawing from the technology sector, which is seen as overrated in the face of inflationary pressures and concerns about the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Uber shares have fallen 35% since it went public in 2019, and rival Lyft has lost 70% in that time; Lyft fell 36% in stock last Wednesday after announcing poor results. Other tech stocks also fell last week, including Cloudflare (down 24%, forecasting a possible loss this quarter), Confluent (up 23% after disappointing financial results), Amazon (down 6%) and Microsoft (down 1%). ).

High gasoline prices are another factor that has a direct impact on companies such as Uber and Lyft.

Unlike Lyft, which spends more on marketing and increases incentives to attract drivers, Khosrovshahi said Uber will cut costs.

“We need to make sure that the economy of our units works before we grow up. The least effective marketing costs and incentives will be withdrawn, “he said.

Uber announced increased revenue of $ 6.9 billion for the first quarter of 2022 as pandemic pressure eased, but there is still a loss of $ 5.9 billion for the quarter.

Uber is not the only major technology company to apply brakes to the recruitment process. Last week, Meta extended the freeze on hiring for middle and senior staff.

“We have experienced a further slowdown since the start of the war in Ukraine due to the loss of revenue in Russia, as well as declining advertising demand both in Europe and abroad,” said Meta CFO David Venner. Meta shares have fallen by about 40% this year.