Earlier, The Information reported that Uber is set to lay off 20 per cent of its workforce. Layoffs of that magnitude “could be announced in stages in the coming weeks” at Uber, said the report, as long-serving Uber’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Thuan Pham quit the company.

Members of Uber’s engineering team will perform Pham’s duties until the company finds a permanent CTO. The spokesperson told Fortune: “As you would expect, the company is looking at every possible scenario to ensure we get to the other side of this crisis in a stronger position than ever”, avoiding a direct take on the layoff report.

“Pham has notified managers who report to him of his plan to leave, which comes as the 3,800-person Uber engineering group could be slashed by nearly 800 people in the coming weeks under the proposed job cuts”, said the report in The Information in April. Going through a turbulent time even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, Uber cut more than 1,100 jobs in 2019. Earlier in April, the company withdrew its financial forecast for 2020 and said it would write down about $2 billion in investments hit by COVID-19. Uber is set to report earnings for its first quarter of 2020 on May 7.