Uber Eats, the food delivery arm of Uber is exiting Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and five other markets. The company has also decided to transfer its business operations in the United Arab Emirates to Careem which operates its own food delivery serviceCareem Nowin the country.
The exit from the Middle East comes almost four years after it expanded to the region with its Dubai launch in 2016. Uber plans to lay off 31% of its workforce in the Middle East to 'reduce its operating expenses in response to the economic challenges and uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on its business'.