Uber China employees learned about the Didi merger when they got in the office and couldn't access their email

Uber's staff in China learned that they had a new employer on Monday when they showed up at the office and their email no longer worked, according to a report in The Information.

Uber had just struck a $35 billion deal to merge its Chinese operations with local ride-hailing rival Didi Chuxing. That meant that Uber's operations and personnel in China would go to Didi.

"We came to work on Monday and found out we were abandoned by the company. We were sold to our rival," an Uber China employee was quoted saying in The Information report.

The $35 billion merger came three years after Uber launched in China. The global ride-hailing app could not turn a profit in the region and struggled to compete against Didi.

Many Uber employees are now concerned about the major differences in company culture between Didi and Uber China, according to the report. For those that don't want to join with Didi, they can apply to transfer to Uber offices outside of China.

Meanwhile, Uber China drivers, who also did not know about the deal were less concerned for their future, as drivers make about the same driving for both Didi and Uber.

Uber was not immediately available for comment.

You can read the full report by The Information's Yunan Zhang and Amir Efrati, with lots of other great details, here.