Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi defends return to office order in heated all-hands meeting : ‘It is what it is’

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi faced a barrage of questions and criticism from employees during a tense all-hands meeting last week, a report has said. The meeting followed the company's announcement of increased in-office requirements and changes to employee benefits. Uber informed its workforce that they are now required to work from the office three days a week, up from the previous two, starting in June. Simultaneously, the company altered the eligibility criteria for its month-long paid sabbatical, raising the tenure requirement from five years to eight years.“If you’re here for a sabbatical and this change causes you to change your mind, it is what it is,” Khosrowshahi told employees at the all-hands meeting held on April 29, CNBC said, citing audio recordings.“I’m sorry about that. The reason we want you to be here is the impact on the company. The learning here. We recognize some of these changes are going to be unpopular with folks. This is a risk we decided to take,” he added.Following Uber's memo announcing the changes, employees actively utilised the company's internal Slido forum to voice their concerns and pose questions. Khosrowshahi acknowledged the high volume of inquiries regarding the policy changes at the start of the meeting, noting that the questions had been consolidated.Khosrowshahi responded by stating that Uber is a "Gen-AI powered company" that needs to operate at its peak performance. He suggested that employees should prioritise learning and their impact on the company over benefits, a remark that further fueled employee pushback.When directly questioned if the policy changes were intended to encourage voluntary resignations, Khosrowshahi denied any such motive. He stated that the changes were "nothing to do in terms of a need to drive attrition or layoffs" and were not related to cost-cutting measures."None of that is planned. The business is operating really, really well. But listen, good isn’t good enough for us. We have to be great as a company," he asserted.