AI hiring – Uber says it is slowing hiring while increasing AI spending, with more coding work handled by autonomous agents and reviewed by employees.
Uber is signaling a shift in how it builds software and grows its workforce, saying it will slow hiring as it puts more money into artificial intelligence.
In its first-quarter update. Uber’s chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said the company is already using AI agents to generate a portion of its code.. He noted that about 10% of Uber’s code changes are produced by autonomous agents. while human employees still review the work before it is added to the company’s code repositories.. The message ties Uber’s focus on AI directly to productivity gains. positioning AI as a way to do more with the same headcount.
That combination of “agent work plus human review” is where many companies are landing right now, and Uber is framing it as a practical path to speed without sacrificing control.
Uber also described broader internal adoption beyond engineering.. Khosrowshahi said employees across multiple teams are using AI tools. including legal and marketing. and that uptake is happening in day-to-day workflows.. He characterized the goal as effectively creating “employees with superpowers,” linking the investment to faster execution and improved throughput.
Meanwhile, the hiring slowdown is part of how Uber plans to fund its AI push.. Khosrowshahi said the company is increasing its AI investment and paying for it by hiring less.. Uber’s chief financial officer Balaji Krishnamurthy added that the company previously underestimated how much impact the tools could have. based on its budgeting for the period leading into the end of 2025.
This matters for workers and investors alike: when spending shifts from headcount to automation, it can change the shape of jobs even if the business keeps growing.
On the financial side, Uber reported first-quarter revenue of $13.2 billion and said gross bookings increased by 25%. The company also outlined expectations for second-quarter earnings per share growth of between 31% and 38%. In pre-market trading, Uber shares were reportedly up about 6%.
Uber’s AI spending plans also reflect how quickly it is scaling tools internally. Its chief technology officer said last month that Uber had already spent its entire 2026 budget for Claude Code, underscoring that AI investments are moving faster than standard planning cycles.
For the market, the key question is whether these AI gains translate into sustained performance: if productivity rises meaningfully, Uber’s strategy suggests it may not need to expand staff at the same pace to support growth.