BREAKING: Limerick bracing itself for Uber job losses

LIMERICK is bracing itself for job losses this Wednesday with car ride-hailing service Uber set to cut workers at its city offices.

The company, which has its European centre of excellence in Thomas Street, has told the 500 staff to expect job losses locally, as it announced it is 3,700 redundancies worldwide.

The move comes about as the Covid-19 pandemic decimates the firm’s business which principally relies on the hailing of cars and cabs through a mobile telephone app.

While no figure has been revealed in terms of how the Limerick operation will be impacted, local TD Maurice Quinlivan said staff were today told to expect “up to 30%” layoffs. This would equate to around 150 positions.

It’s understood a consultation period will be started among the staff, with an email going out from the company later.

Mr Quinlivan described it as “devastating news for workers locally”.

“Uber is a significant local employer, employing hundreds of staff from their Europe, Middle East and Africa headquarters in Thomas Street. The Covid-19 pandemic has had terrible consequences for so many people, with over 1,300 sadly losing their lives here so far, thousands having gotten very sick and so many people losing their jobs. This is another major blow for Limerick City centre in particular,” he said.

The Sinn Fein TD urged Enterprise Minister Heather Humphreys ensures affected staff are offered support and online re-training opportunities to help them find new employment.

“This is very difficult news for the staff affected and it’s vital they are supported by the social protection system in the short term, via the Pandemic Unemployment Payment and by the employment services and jobs agencies going forward,” he added.

In an international statement about its overall business, Uber said its layoffs included its customer support and recruiting teams, and it expects to incur about $20m in costs for severance and related charges. 

Uber and rival Lyft have already withdrawn their full-year financial outlooks as demand for app-based rides dropped sharply across the world after governments imposed stay-at-home orders to curb the transmission of the coronavirus. 

Headquartered in San Francisco, Uber provides ride-service hailing, food delivery and a micromobility system with electric bikes and scooters.

A spokesperson for Uber said the firm cannot share local staff reduction numbers.

They added: "With people taking fewer trips, the unfortunate reality is that there isn’t enough work for many of our front-line customer support employees. Since we don’t know how long a recovery will take, we are taking steps to bring our costs in line with the size of our business today. This was a tough decision, but it is the right one to help protect the company’s long-term health and ensure we come out of this crisis stronger."