Uber CEO has a harsh message for frustrated employees

Late last month, Uber (UBER) decided to hop on a controversial trend in corporate America. Uber CEO ​Dara Khosrowshahi sent a stern email to employees warning them that the company will be scaling back remote work.

“Going forward, we’re further raising this bar,” said Khosrowshahi. “After a thorough review of our existing remote approvals, we’re asking many remote employees to come into an office. In addition, we’ll hire new remote roles only very sparingly.”

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Employees at the company will be required to work in the office from Tuesday to Thursday, starting in June. The change comes after Uber announced in 2022 that workers can use Tuesdays and Thursdays as “anchor days,” only working in the office two days a week.

Related: Uber CEO gives employees a harsh wake-up call

Amid the new in-office mandate, Uber’s leadership team will monitor in-office attendance “at both team and individual levels to ensure expectations are being met.”

“Our collective view as a leadership team is that while remote work has some benefits, being in the office fuels collaboration, sparks creativity, and increases velocity,” said Khosrowshahi.

Uber CEO gives employees a rude awakening

In a new interview with CNBC, Khosrowshahi doubled down on this policy, claiming that the company wants its employees to step up their game.

“[We] want people again in the office, we want them working hard,” said Khosrowshahi. “Our company is executing really well, but we need to be at the top of our game, and that means people working together in the office.”

He also said that while the company is having one-on-one discussions with employees about adjusting to the new in-office mandate, he emphasized that employees ultimately have a choice regarding whether they want to stay at the company.

Related: Amazon CEO gives hard-nosed message to employees

“The good news is the economy is still really strong, the job market is strong, and people who work at Uber, they have lots of opportunities everywhere,” said Khosrowshahi. “We want them obviously to take the opportunity with us to take the opportunity to learn, but this is a company where you have to work hard. We’re not going to make excuses for that, and you have to work hard together. That’s the kind of environment we’re trying to build.”

In addition to the new in-office mandate, Uber recently updated its sabbatical program, which offers employees the opportunity to take a fully paid four-week vacation. Previously, to be eligible for the program, employees had to have worked at the company for five years. Now, Uber has updated that requirement to eight years.

During the interview, Khosrowshahi briefly addressed the change, claiming that the program is “incredibly generous” and emphasized that the company wants employees to work hard.

Uber recently increased its profits

It appears that the hard work of Uber employees is already paying off. The company generated increased profits during the first few months of this year.

In Uber’s first-quarter earnings report for 2025, it revealed that it saw a 14% year-over-year increase in its monthly active platform consumers, and the number of trips booked through the Uber app rose by 18% year-over-year.

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Overall, Uber generated $11.5 billion in revenue, which is 14% higher than what it earned during the same quarter last year.

“We kicked off the year with yet another quarter of profitable growth at scale, with trips up 18% and even stronger user retention,” said Khosrowshahi in the report. “Supported by the consistent strength of our core business, we continue to build towards the future, including five new autonomous vehicle announcements in just the last week.”

Uber’s decision to scale back remote work and crack down on in-office attendance could be risky.

According to a recent survey from ResumeBuilder.com, 20% of workers said they are very likely to leave their company if it begins monitoring in-office attendance, and an additional 33% said they are somewhat likely to follow suit.

“For many employees, remote work has become a non-negotiable part of their professional lives. As companies attempt to reinstate in-office requirements, there has been pushback from workers. Employers should know job seekers today still have options if they are looking to work remotely,” said Resume Builder’s Chief Career Advisor Stacie Haller in the report. 

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