Uber announced plans to reduce its workforce by roughly 10% as part of an effort to become “simpler and faster,” according to a memo from CEO Dara Khosrowshahi sent to staff. The move also aims to free up resources for future investments, including the company’s previously announced commitment of over $10 billion to autonomous‑vehicle development. Following the news, Uber’s shares climbed almost 2%.

The firm declined to disclose exactly how many positions would be eliminated. At the close of 2025, Uber employed about 34,000 people, per its annual filing.

Uber joins a growing list of companies flattening hierarchies to accelerate decision‑making and boost efficiency—a trend also seen at major tech firms such as Google. Khosrowshahi stressed that the layoffs are not linked to AI‑driven cuts, which have contributed to recent tech‑sector job losses.

Specific actions include slashing the size of small teams that have only one or two direct reports by nearly half and reducing staff who are seven layers removed from the CEO by 20%. Khosrowshahi noted that many of these structures have become unnecessary given Uber’s current scale.

Additionally, Uber will merge several teams and concentrate more employees in key hubs like New York and San Francisco, while permitting roughly 1 % of the workforce to continue working remotely. He added that a leaner setup will bring clearer accountability, faster decisions, and more time devoted to product building rather than internal coordination.

Two oil tankers struck naval mines while attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Wednesday, after the Iranian military made retaliatory strikes on U.S. bases in the Middle East.

In a statement shared by state media, the influential hard-line military group said the vessels had been disabled and forced to disembark their crew after ignoring warnings on taking an “illegal route” through the strait.

President Donald Trump said he was “not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table,” as U.S. forces completed a fresh round of attacks against the Middle Eastern country on Tuesday stateside.

U.S. Central Command disputed Iran’s claim of striking the two oil tankers, saying in a social media post on Wednesday that “No ships have hit mines in the Strait of Hormuz. This is yet another IRGC attempt to intimidate regional commercial shipping through disinformation.”

The latest exchange of military strikes came as the Financial Times published an investigative report claiming Russia was secretly helping Iran to develop advanced supersonic cruise missiles capable of threatening U.S. aircraft carriers and other warships in the region.

In a Truth Social post, Trump claimed the U.S. has “almost total control” over the Strait of Hormuz, while adding that Tehran’s economy was collapsing.

He said Iran was just “playing out the inevitable” and asked, “When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?”

In an earlier post on X, U.S. Central Command said that it struck air defense and communications sites, and radar systems in Iran, in retaliation against the “recent attempted attacks” by the country against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members.

Tehran responded to American strikes, targeting U.S. ally Jordan. The country’s armed forces said it was targeted by a missile attack that originated from Iranian territory.

A spokesperson for Jordan’s armed forces said on X that 10 of 13 missiles were intercepted by the country’s air defense systems, with the three fell in remote areas. No injuries or deaths were reported.

Bahrain’s armed forces said on Instagram on Wednesday that they had intercepted and destroyed “treacherous Iranian air strikes today,” following an earlier announcement by Bahrain’s Interior Ministry of “an alert of potential threat.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with Fox Business on Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz will become a “worthless piece of water” in two years, contending that oil will instead flow across land pipelines and bypass the strait.

Strikes on Sunday were the first time that the U.S. and Iran traded attacks in about a month, and after the Trump administration said it was launching an “economic D-Day” on Tehran’s backers.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent informed Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov that sanctions relief or new agreements with Moscow are not feasible while the Ukraine war continues, based on a source aware of the discussion.

The officials met during the G20 finance leaders’ summit in Asheville, North Carolina.

Bessent’s comments followed Siluanov’s first in-person attendance at the summit since Russia’s 2022 invasion, which drew criticism from European leaders. European governments intend to escalate sanctions to pressure Russia’s economy.

The meeting highlighted Washington’s openness to diplomatic engagement with Moscow, even as European allies seek to isolate Russia amid the ongoing conflict.

Bessent explicitly stated to Siluanov that “nothing is possible until the war is over,” when the Russian minister raised topics of mutual interest, according to the source.

Reuters initially reported on this interaction.

The conversation centered on President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine and economic development, as reported by Axios, while Russia’s finance ministry described the talks as involving financial cooperation under the G20 umbrella.

Russia’s participation sparked concern among European officials, who objected to posing with Siluanov in the traditional G20 photo, which proceeded without the Russian minister.