Uber Plans New Engineering Lab in Toronto

Uber announced it is expanding its presence in Canada with a new engineering office to be opened in Toronto early next year, CNN reports.

The Toronto location will be the ride-hailing firm's eight engineering hub outside of the U.S.

According to the news source, the movie to Toronto is the result of the U.S. government making it more difficult for companies to hire qualified foreign workers and obtain the necessary visas and work permits. Canada, however, has been expediting work permits and visas as part of a two-year pilot program to help companies find skilled workers.

In a press release, Uber said it expects dozens of its engineer to move to Toronto, as "many have already expressed an interest to live and work in Toronto, some are Canadian and others are from elsewhere in the world."

Uber plans to invest more than 200 million Canadian dollars ($150 million) in the area over the next five years.