Uber gives all corporate employees ChatGPT access weeks after laying off thousands

Ride-hailing company rolls out OpenAI's enterprise tool to 30,000 workers amid concerns over AI replacing jobs

By LineZotpaper

Published23 October 2026

Read Time2 min

Uber is providing all of its corporate employees with access to OpenAI's ChatGPT Work tool, the company announced Thursday. The rollout comes about a month after Uber laid off approximately 3,300 workers, or about 10 percent of its corporate workforce. The company did not cite AI in the layoff announcement, but some affected employees said AI was already performing significant parts of their roles.

About 30,000 employees at Uber's offices will have access to ChatGPT Work, which can connect with Slack, Gmail and other programs to research information, prepare meeting briefs, create presentations, analyze data and complete workflows across applications, according to a statement from Uber and OpenAI. Uber initially tested the tool with a group of 1,000 employees.

Uber CTO Praveen Neppalli Naga said the company wants to give everyone the tools to innovate, solve problems and help shape Uber's future. The layoffs last month were intended to reduce management layers and the number of small teams, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said at the time.

The company cited AI as a reason for an earlier round of layoffs in July, which targeted customer service employees. Some laid-off workers told Business Insider that AI was handling tasks such as answering questions in Slack and crafting replies to messages from riders and drivers.

The push to give remaining employees AI tools while cutting jobs highlights the complex relationship between automation and employment in the tech industry.

Analysis

Why This Matters

Uber's move is one of the largest deployments of a generative AI workplace tool, affecting tens of thousands of employees.
The timing, shortly after mass layoffs, raises questions about whether AI is replacing human workers.
The decision by a major tech employer could set a precedent for how other companies integrate AI into their operations.

Background

Uber has conducted several rounds of layoffs in recent years, including the most recent one that cut about 10 percent of corporate staff to flatten management. The company has also pointed to AI in earlier job cuts, notably in its customer service division in July. The rapid adoption of tools like ChatGPT in corporate settings has fueled debate about automation and employment.

Key Perspectives

Uber: The company positions the ChatGPT rollout as a way to empower employees to innovate and solve problems, with CTO Praveen Neppalli Naga emphasising enabling workers rather than replacing them. Laid-off employees: Some former workers say AI was already doing significant parts of their jobs, suggesting that automation contributed to job losses even if not officially cited. Critics/Skeptics: The rollout after layoffs may be seen as replacing human labour with technology, and the lack of transparency about AI's role in the latest cuts could fuel distrust among workers and the public.

What to Watch

Whether other large companies follow Uber's lead in rolling out AI productivity tools at scale.
Future layoff announcements from Uber and whether they cite AI directly.
Employee feedback on the tool and any measurable impact on productivity or job satisfaction.

Sources

Uber doubles down on ChatGPT for workers after last month's layoffs · All Content from Business Insider

Checked

12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 10 supported.

Show each claim

SupportedUber is giving all its corporate employees access to ChatGPT Work weeks after laying off thousands.All Content from Business Insider: “Uber is giving all of its corporate employees access to OpenAI's enterprise tool weeks after laying off thousands.”
Partly supportedUber is rolling out the tool to 30,000 workers amid concerns over AI replacing jobs.All Content from Business Insider: “About 30,000 employees at the ride-hailing service 's offices will have access to ChatGPT Work, the two companies said on Thursday.”
SupportedUber announced Thursday that all its corporate employees would get access to ChatGPT Work.All Content from Business Insider: “About 30,000 employees at the ride-hailing service 's offices will have access to ChatGPT Work, the two companies said on Thursday.”
SupportedThe rollout came about a month after Uber laid off about 3,300 workers, or about 10% of its corporate workforce.All Content from Business Insider: “The rollout comes the month after Uber laid off about 10% of its corporate workforce, or about 3,300 people.”
SupportedUber did not cite AI in its layoff announcement.All Content from Business Insider: “It didn't cite AI in its announcement.”
SupportedSome laid-off employees told Business Insider that AI was doing significant parts of their jobs.All Content from Business Insider: “Some laid-off employees told Business Insider that AI was doing significant parts of their jobs, from answering their questions in Slack to crafting replies to messages from riders and drivers.”
SupportedChatGPT Work can connect with Slack, Gmail and other programs to research, prepare meeting briefs, create presentations, analyze data and complete workflows.All Content from Business Insider: “The tool will connect with other programs that Uber employees use, such as Slack and Gmail, to "research information, prepare meeting briefs, create presentations, analyze data and complete workflows across applications," a statement said.”
SupportedUber initially tested the tool with 1,000 employees.All Content from Business Insider: “Uber initially tested the tool among a group of 1,000 employees.”
SupportedUber CTO Praveen Neppalli Naga said the company wanted to give everyone tools to innovate, solve problems and help shape Uber’s future.All Content from Business Insider: “"As AI transforms how we work, we want to give everyone the tools to innovate, solve problems and help shape Uber's future," Uber CTO Praveen Neppalli Naga said.”
SupportedCEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the layoffs were intended to reduce management layers and the number of small teams.All Content from Business Insider: “The company made the job cuts to reduce management layers and reduce the number of small teams, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said at the time.”
SupportedUber cited AI as a reason for an earlier round of layoffs in July targeting customer service employees.All Content from Business Insider: “Uber cited AI as a reason for an earlier round of layoffs in July, which targeted Uber's customer service employees .”
Not in the sourcesThe rollout alongside job cuts highlights the complex relationship between automation and employment in the tech industry.