Ride hailing giant Uber Technologies said on Wednesday it will cut 3,700 jobs and its chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, will forgo his salary for the remainder of this year.
"Due to lower trip volumes in its rides segment and the company’s current hiring freeze, [Uber] is reducing its customer support and recruiting teams by approximately 3,700 full-time employee roles," the company said in a filing to markets.
"In connection with these actions, the company estimates that it will incur approximately $20 million (Dh73.4m) related to severance and other termination benefits," it added.
Uber has been hit hard by a decline in its ride-hailing business during the pandemic as stay-at-home orders meant people cut down their travel.
The company, which floated on the Nasdaq exchange 12 months ago, also said it is "evaluating other cost[s]" as it attempts to drive down its operating expenses.
Uber declared losses of $8.5 billion on revenue of $14.1bn in its first year as a public company.
Over the years, it has pursued a strategy of acquiring rivals in competitive markets and pulling back from direct operations.
In line with such a strategy, the company completed its acquisition of Dubai-based ride hailing competitor Careem in a $3.1bn deal in January.
Careem announced its own plan to reduce headcount earlier this week. It cut more than 30 per cent of roles, with chief executive Mudassir Sheikha saying its core ride-hailing business had fallen by as much as 90 per cent and its delivery business by 60 per cent in some of markets.
Earlier this week, Uber Eats also said it would stop operating in the UAE and Saudi Arabia and transfer its existing customers to Careem Now - the food delivery arm of Careem.
In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
How to get exposure to gold
Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.
A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.
Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.
Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.
London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long
However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
In numbers
Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
Scorline
Iraq 1-0 UAE
Iraq Hussein 28’
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
