As the lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe, Uber lays off a quarter of its staff in less than a month.

Uber, a ride-hailing company has seen a huge drop of 80% in its business and there is hardly any scope of improvement. Given the fact that people around the globe are practicing self-quarantine in their homes.

In an email to staff, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said that in the latest round of COVID-19-inspired cost-cutting, the company will lay off 3,000 employees.

“We have to take these hard actions to stand strong on our own two feet, to secure our future, and to continue on our mission,”

Khosrowshahi said in the email.

3,700 employees were laid off two weeks ago

This latest news of laying off 3,000 employees came just 2 weeks after the company had laid off 3,700 employees.

In less than a month, Uber has reduced a quarter of its staff.

Uber to shut down 45 offices globally

Uber is also shutting down close to 45 offices globally. Some of the divisions will be reshuffled.

Khosrowshahi said, to “refocus our efforts on our core,” which he defines as “helping people move, and delivering things.”

The company will also “pursue strategic alternatives for Uber Works,” its work shift-finder app. And Zhenya Lindgardt, the company’s vice president of customer engagement and business strategy, will be leaving the company, Khosrowshahi said.

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Uber Eats bookings increased by 54%

Uber Eats which is the company’s food delivery service, was seeing a profit. Last week, the company reported that bookings in its Uber Eats division were up more than 54 percent year over year.

But Khosrowshahi notes those gains won’t cover the severe losses brought by the drop in ride-hailing, Uber’s core business.

“I will caution that while Eats growth is accelerating, the business today doesn’t come close to covering our expenses,” Khosrowshahi said. “I have every belief that the moves we are making will get Eats to profitability, just as we did with Rides, but it’s not going to happen overnight.”

Uber’s competitor, Lyft has also announced that it will be laying off 1,000 employees (17% of its staff).

Careem, Uber’s Middle Eastern subsidiary, slashed headcount by more than 30 percent and suspended its bus transport app.

“Having learned my own personal lesson about the unpredictability of the world from the punch-in-the-gut called COVID-19, I will not make any claims with absolute certainty regarding our future,” he wrote. “I will tell you, however, that we are making really, really hard choices now, so that we can say our goodbyes, have as much clarity as we can, move forward, and start to build again with confidence.”