Uber Is Considering Giving Its Drivers Stock

To say that Uber’s last few months have been a bit rocky is something of an understatement. After a constant run of scandals, the founding CEO is out (as is about half the management team), it’s bleeding hundreds of millions per month and it find itself in a protracted legal battle with Google over self-driving cars.

And so Uber is thinking of perhaps making a big sea change — according to a new report out of Axios, Uber is considering giving shares in the company to its drivers. The ridesharing pioneer has reportedly already had “multiple meetings” with the SEC on the subject (though details are non-existent at this point).

So why is Uber considering such a big move? In a word: worry. Uber needs to keep drivers on the platform — and the controversies around its employment practices, how it treats female workers and how it went about setting off its signature innovation by essentially ignoring regulators has taken a bite out of Uber’s bottom line and sent some of its riders over to competitor Lyft.

Stock offering would be a big differentiator between the two services — particularly if it is conceived as a loyalty program for existing drivers.

And apart from loyalty, said program might be an attempt to save cash, since Uber is burning through funds at present. Uber lost $2.8 billion in 2016 and is estimated to have a cash pile of around $7 billion. At its current burn rate, Uber will be in the red in two years. Using non-cash incentives with drivers won’t entirely fix that problem — but as experts watching the segment have noted, it will certainly slow the bleeding some.