Uber’s online freight matching solution Uber Freight has announced plans to lay off roughly 3% of its workforce (nearly 150 employees) in a response to the drop in demand for shipping services arising from negative economic conditions. 

The company commented that the layoffs will be limited to its freight-matching operations.

Meanwhile, Waymo, the autonomous vehicle arm of Google, also announced layoffs for “a limited number of roles” within the organization. The company released a statement claiming that even though they are currently pulling back on fully autonomous deployment for freight trucking, the company remains fully committed to bringing its solution to scale over time. 

Analyst Quick Take: Uber Freight and Waymo are the latest players in the truck tech space to announce layoffs. In December 2022, autonomous truck manufacturer TuSimple and fleet management technology provider Motive , both cut down on their workforces to adapt to the changing economic environment.