It's not unusual for stocks to go up on layoffs, but as others have commented there isn't always a simple explanation either. But it wasn't a secret that Uber was going to be getting hit hard by quarantine - it would probably already be priced into the stock by the point. The news today is that Uber's leadership is recognizing that and aggressively taking action to protect the bottom line - sucks in the short-term for employees, especially those directly affected, but that's great news for investors.

There's not always a true, causal explanation of why stocks are reacting as they are. Don't be too quick to trust cable news anchors or other stock market shills that make a living making up and touting stock market narratives. By definition a stock price is a split of the public consensus of what's happening, just as many people are selling as buying at that price.

Your explanation seems as good as any.

The entire market is up on Powell’s positive remarks on the economy’s recovery.

> Is it because Uber's expenditure will decrease because of the layoffs?

Yes.

This is Uber's way of saying to their investors that their costs will decrease due to losing billions during the coronavirus outbreak, thus head count must be decreased. But some who are buying now, may see this as a way of selling at the "bull trap" in Q2.

Because UBER has tremendous bloat. All COVID did was accelerate the inevitable.

Stocks are always trying to predict the future, having these layoffs makes people think that they're getting leaner and organizing, I guess.