Uber finally realizes it isn't making any money, freezes engineering hires

[Recursion]

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2019/08/uber-freezes-engineering-hires-amid-mounting-losses/

Uber is freezing hiring for software engineers and product managers across its US and Canadian workforce, the company acknowledged to Bloomberg on Friday. The shift was reported by Yahoo earlier in the day. The freeze does not apply to Uber's autonomous vehicle and freight-shipping divisions.

The news comes a day after Uber reported second-quarter operating losses of $5.4 billion—a new record for the company. That figure exaggerates Uber's quarterly burn rate because it includes more than $4 billion in one-time charges related to Uber's initial public offering. Still, excluding IPO-related charges still leaves around $1.2 billion in operating losses, worse than the $1 billion the firm lost in the first quarter.

Uber recently laid off 400 marketing workers. According to Yahoo, Uber employees are worried that this could be a prelude to broader cuts as the company struggles to stem its losses.

"During a recent all-hands meeting, a question about potential layoffs in the engineering department was also raised, but executives didn't provide any timelines," Yahoo's Krystal Hu reports.

Uber is a puzzle to me: as it stands right now it's a scheme to funnel money from rich Chinese investors to American drivers. Maybe the investors just figured that out?

[unblock]

1. Uber and lyft don't give a crap about drivers. They're in it for the driverless cars

Eventually, driverless cars will be widely viable and available. Uber and lyft are positioning themselves to be the app and the business that controls the use of those vehicles.

That's where the profit is.

What they're doing right now with human drivers is just a loss-leading placeholder.

[jberryhill]

2. To be safe...

Always make sure the missing picture of your driver matches the absent driver in the car.

[PSPS]

4. LOL! I like it!

[Recursion]

5. True, but for now their driver subsidies are why they're losing money

In nearly every case your Uber driver gets more money than you paid for the ride. That's obviously not sustainable long-term.

[democratisphere]

3. Drivers aren't making any money either.

Business is not viable.

[Recursion]

6. They're making more than yellow cab drivers

The driver makes more than you paid for the ride, and that money's coming from China. Like I said I find the whole thing puzzling.

[democratisphere]

7. When a driver adds up their expenses including depreciation on the vehicle, gas, oil changes,

insurance, tires, repairs and maintenance, etc. they are not making any money.

[Recursion]

9. And yellow cab drivers make even less

You know they pay those things too, right? There's a reason none of those articles about how shockingly little Uber drivers make ever compared their actual pay to medallion cab drivers.

[democratisphere]

10. Uber and the like are not viable businesses. I am not comparing it to any other transportation

company. The Uber drivers are also rarely tipped.