Ride-hailing firm Uber is scaling back its operations in Pakistan, the latest in a series of efforts as the company looks to improve its financial performance.
Uber says it is ceasing operations in up to 6 cities where it had launched and expanded over the years. The service will now only be available in Lahore, Uber said. The company insists that it remains committed to Pakistan and its subsidiary Careem will continue to offer services in Karachi, Multan, Faisalabad, Peshawar and Islamabad.
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The move will nonetheless impact several jobs. According to Uber, it will help some driver partners switch over to Careem. However it did not specify the number of jobs that will get eliminated as part of the decision. The company informed in a blog post:
“We know this is a difficult time for the teams who have worked incredibly hard to build this business over the past few years. We greatly appreciate everyone’s contributions and our priority is to minimize the impact to our employees, drivers, riders, and Hero partners who use the Uber app during this change in Karachi, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Multan and Peshawar.”
Uber had entered Pakistan in early 2016 as part of a $250 million push to expand into the Middle East and North Africa. The company has faced tough competition from InDriver and local competitor Bykea in recent quarters.
Source: TechCrunch
A computer animation professional with over 23 years of industry experience having served in leading organizations, TV channels & production facilities in Pakistan. An avid car enthusiast and petrolhead with an affection to deliver quality content to help shape opinions. Formerly written for PakWheels as well as major publications including Dawn. Founder of CarSpiritPK.com
