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Careem has laid off staff across multiple markets and closed its Berlin office entirely, FWDstart has learned, in a restructuring that the company has yet to publicly acknowledge. The cuts come days after FWDstart reported the wind-down of most consumer services in Saudi Arabia.
Careem's Berlin engineering team has been laid off in full, with the office closing entirely. The closure was first reported by Pakistan Observer and TechJuice, and confirmed to FWDstart by a former employee. Reasons given to staff were described as "operational."
In Pakistan, where Careem maintains a significant engineering and operations presence despite the July 2025 closure of the Pakistan ride-hailing business, multiple departments have also reportedly been affected.
Posts from exiting staff and those now listed as "Open To Work" on LinkedIn across other affected markets, including the UAE, Egypt and Jordan, point to cuts across marketing, social media, community, content, engineering, data analysis, operations and finance.
Regional contacts have told FWDstart the cuts represent a significant share of the workforce. Specific figures could not be verified.
The contraction lands as Uber, which retains a 42% stake in Careem Technologies and fully owns Careem's ride-hailing business, has been signalling regional weakness and a broader shift in headcount strategy.
Uber told investors on Wednesday, as reported by the FT, that its Q1 2026 mobility revenue had been hit by the conflict in the Middle East, citing Saudi Arabia and the UAE specifically.
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi separately told Business Insider that Uber is "increasing its investment in AI and paying for it by hiring less", and that the company was "metering headcount growth and leaning in on AI investment."
The last comparable round of layoffs at Careem came in May 2020, when the company cut 31% of its workforce in a Covid-driven restructuring announced by Sheikha in an all-hands meeting accompanied by a public note to staff.
FWDstart approached Careem for comment on Wednesday 6 May with specific questions about the restructuring. Careem did not respond.
This is a developing story. FWDstart will update this piece as Careem responds and as further detail emerges.
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