Read the email sent to Uber employees about a hiring freeze through May 31 to control its costs amid the coronavirus crisis

REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.

• Uber has confirmed to Business Insider that it has instituted a hiring freeze as a cost containment measure as the coronavirus crisis continues to drag down the economy.
• The hiring freeze will be in place until May 31.
• Employees are nervous that layoffs will be next, but leadership reassured them at an all-hands meeting on Tuesday that no layoffs are planned at this time, the company confirmed.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Uber on Monday informed its employees that it had put in place a company-wide hiring ban until May 31, the company confirmed to Business Insider, as the coronavirus crisis and the looming possibility of a recession cast a long shadow over the company.

An email sent to the troops from Uber Chief People Officer Nikki Krishnamurthy said, in part:

"The COVID-19 crisis continues to evolve rapidly, so ELT has spent a lot of time over the last few days developing plans for this difficult period, for Uber and for the world. Part of that means anticipating potential impacts on our business, and taking difficult but decisive steps now to get ahead of them.

After several discussions, we have decided to pause net new hiring company-wide through May 31st, when we will re-evaluate and either stay the course or restart recruiting."

According to LinkedIn, Uber had thousands of job listings worldwide at the time of writing.

Employees have been nervous for weeks that the company was gearing up for another big restructuring, including layoffs. In fact, someone asked Krishnamurthy about layoffs at the all-hands meeting on Tuesday - but she assured the troops that company had no plans for layoffs at this time, a spokesperson tells Business Insider.

Still, the ride-hailing giant has gone through series of upper-management changes, including the exit of key engineering vice president Matthew Mengerink earlier this month. Recent months have seen the departure of top executives at its Uber Eats and New Mobility divisions.

Demand for these apps has likely drastically decreased in the past few days as more states, counties and cities ask their residents to hunker down in place and limit travel thanks to the coronavirus. In some places, like Summit County, Colorado, rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft have been banned entirely.

Uber Eats, in particularly, could be a service that sees usage spike as in-person dining has been restricted at a growing number of cities, but delivery remains available. However, Uber Eats this week followed its competitors and waived the delivery feefor more than 100,000 independent restaurants. Uber has also also agreed to give two weeks pay to drivers who test positive for COVID-19 or are quarantined.

Are you an Uber insider with insight to share? Contact Julie Bort via email at jbort@businessinsider.com or on encrypted chat app Signal at (970) 430-6112 (no PR inquiries, please). Open DMs on Twitter @Julie188.

Axel Springer, Insider Inc.'s parent company, is an investor in Uber.

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