The company said it would discontinue operations in Nigeria and Uganda from September 2, describing the decision as part of its evolving business priorities and investment focus across Africa.
Uber, however, stressed that it remains committed to Sub-Saharan Africa and that the withdrawal from the two markets would not affect its operations elsewhere on the continent.
The exits come as Uber announced its largest workforce reduction since the COVID-19 pandemic. The company plans to eliminate about 3,300 positions, equivalent to roughly 10% of its global workforce of about 34,000 employees at the end of 2025.
The restructuring is designed to flatten Uber’s corporate structure, reduce management layers and redirect resources toward areas the company sees as having greater growth potential, including ride-sharing, delivery and robotaxis.
Uber prepares for a driverless future
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the company’s rapid expansion over the past five years had created additional management layers, fragmented ownership and organisational complexity that had slowed decision-making.
The restructuring will reduce the number of employees positioned seven or more reporting layers below the CEO by 20%, while the number of teams with only one or two direct reports will be cut by nearly half. Uber is also reducing fully remote roles to about 1% of its workforce.
The company said the savings generated from the restructuring would be reinvested in growth, innovation and capabilities it considers important to its future.
One of the biggest priorities is autonomous mobility. Uber plans to invest more than $10 billion in robotaxis in the coming years, backing companies developing autonomous-driving technology and positioning its platform to serve as a marketplace for driverless rides.
The shift comes as competition in autonomous mobility intensifies. Waymo, which operates robotaxis in the US, has been expanding its services beyond its partnership with Uber, while Tesla is also pushing further into driverless transportation.
For Uber, the rise of autonomous vehicles presents both an opportunity and a threat. The company’s traditional model depends on connecting passengers with human drivers, while a large-scale robotaxi industry could reduce the importance of the driver network and change the economics of ride-hailing.
Uber is therefore seeking to position itself on the other side of that transition by becoming a major platform for autonomous rides rather than being displaced by companies that own or operate driverless fleets.
What the exit means for Nigeria and Uganda
Uber’s withdrawal from Nigeria and Uganda represents a more targeted retrenchment from Africa rather than a continent-wide exit.
The company said its decision was based on its changing priorities and investment focus and maintained that it continues to see opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The move means Uber will concentrate its African resources on markets where it believes it can generate greater value for riders, drivers and local teams.
Nigeria is one of Africa’s largest ride-hailing markets and has been an important market for app-based mobility services. Uber’s departure therefore marks a significant change in Nigeria’s competitive ride-hailing landscape, particularly for drivers and passengers who have used the platform since it entered the country.
The exit also comes shortly after a dispute between Uber and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria over airport operations. FAAN said in August that it had not imposed a blanket ban on Uber and that discussions with e-hailing operators were continuing over issues including safety, security, accountability and airport pick-up arrangements.
However, Uber has not identified the FAAN dispute as the reason for its withdrawal from Nigeria. The airport disagreement should therefore is viewed as recent operating context rather than a confirmed cause of the company’s exit.
