Uber is planning on tightening the purse strings this year. In an email to employees shared with CNBC, the ride-hailing firm’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the company would cut back on spending amidst a “seismic shift” in investor sentiment. First up on the chopping block are marketing and incentives, also known as Uber’s various perks for customers and drivers that include sign-up bonuses and ride discounts. Although Khosrowshahi didn’t mention lay-offs in the e-mail, he made clear that any new hiring at the company would be treated as "a privilege."“We have to make sure our unit economics work before we go big. The least efficient marketing and incentive spend will be pulled back. We will treat hiring as a privilege and be deliberate about when and where we add headcount. We will be even more hardcore about costs across the board,” wrote Khosrowshahi.The company’s quarterly earnings call last week contained both good news and bad news: Uber’s $6.9 billio
