Uber says it spent $19 million on coronavirus financial assistance for drivers

Uber Technologies Inc on Thursday for the first time detailed how much it has spent to support its ride-hail drivers and food delivery workers during the coronavirus crisis, which has battered the company and forced it to lay off thousands of employees.

The company said in a blog post it had spent $19 million as of mid-May in direct two-week financial assistance to a total of nearly 48,900 drivers worldwide who were infected by the virus or ordered to quarantine.

Half of that amount was paid out to 12,350 drivers and delivery workers in the United States and Canada, Uber’s largest market and where it has some 1.3 million drivers.