This as told essay is based on a conversation with Kori X, who lives in Phoenix. They were originally laid off from Uber in 2023, returned this year as an evaluation specialist on the GenAI team and were laid off again. Their words have been edited for length and clarity.
I was the first fired by Uber in 2023 after working my way up through multiple roles. When I woke up yesterday morning and saw the email that I was being fired again four months after I rejoined the company, I wanted to throw my phone against the wall.
I was extremely nervous about returning to work at Uber this year after already being laid off once. I loved this company but I was so afraid it would happen again. I need a new jobso I talked to some of my friends who were still working at Uber, and in May they helped me get back to work as an evaluation specialist on the GenAI team.
Unfortunately, my fears came true this week.
I didn’t see the dismissal coming
After my discharge in 2023, I ventured out and was a manager in a store for a minute, but unfortunately that store closed. So I thought, “Okay, maybe it’s time, give Uber another chance. I’ll go back.”
Within weeks I was rehired and worked in a team of twelve to fifteen people. I was consistent working in the officeat. I was also on an employee experience team. I was planning events for the upcoming holidays and things like that.
I was shocked when I received an email from my manager saying that she and other people on my team had also been fired. To me, nothing hinted at this.
Last I heard, the company may have just laid off a few people a month or so ago, and it seemed like we had a minute to not worry before they did more.
My access was cut off quite quickly
My internal system access was cut off at 5pm local time yesterday, but I was unable to reach Slack before then.
I got 21 weeks severance pay on the basis of a permanent appointment and two months of ‘garden leave’, during which I will receive my salary until November. Until then, I will remain on the payroll, with uninterrupted stock vesting and health benefits.
I won’t wait until then to apply. I started searching as soon as I got the email. Unfortunately, the labor market is really difficult there. I was still working on it at the beginning of this year.
I have to live somehow. If business is what it takes, then unfortunately I’m going back to business. But if I can find a smaller store or go somewhere that isn’t in a corporate environment, that’s probably where I’d prefer to be.
I don’t think it was a management layer problem
I don’t agree the CEO’s judgment that there were too many layers of management. And if so, it’s his fault. That’s all done by senior leadership. That has nothing to do with frontline workers.
I think these are excuses for why Uber wanted to fire people, but I don’t think it has anything to do with management or too much overlap. I think they see that AI products can replace a lot of that, and they can make more money with fewer people.
If they’re going to fire people, maybe be a little bit more discerning about who you’re going to fire, because there were really good people who were there for a long time who were affected by it. I had been there for years before my first layoff. I knew that place like the back of my hand, and they didn’t care.
Uber did not respond to a request for comment.
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