Uber Technologies president Jeff Jones is quitting after less than a year, amid multiple controversies engulfing the ride-hailing company that is showing signs of unravelling.
The scandals range from allegations of sexual harassment and a toxic work culture to the combative behaviour of Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick. After Bloomberg published a video on Feb 28 showing Kalanick berating an Uber driver, he said he would seek "leadership help" and was planning to hire a chief operating officer. The plan was viewed internally as an effective demotion for Jones, who was hired last year as president of ridesharing and second in command, a person familiar with the matter said.
Jones decided to leave because the long string of controversies are not what he signed on for when he left his post as chief marketing officer at Target, according to Recode, which reported his departure earlier Sunday. He's not leaving the closely held company because of the COO search, the website reported. Jones's purview included Uber's brand, which took a beating during his short tenure.
"It is now clear the beliefs and approach to leadership that have guided my career are inconsistent with what I saw and experienced at Uber," Mr Jones said in a statement to Recode. "I can no longer continue as president of the ride sharing business."
"We want to thank Jeff for his six months at the company and wish him all the best," Uber wrote in an emailed statement.
"After we announced our intention to hire a COO, Jeff came to the tough decision that he doesn't see his future at Uber," said Kalanikick in a note to staff. It is unfortunate that this was announced through the press but I thought it was important to send all of you an email before providing comment publicly."
Uber has been in the limelight for all the wrong reasons this year. The San Francisco-based ride-hailing app was accused of undermining a taxi strike against US President Donald Trump's immigration ban in January.
Kalanick stepped down from Trump's business advisory council after a #DeleteUber movement began to pick up steam.
In February, a former employee wrote a blog post about her experiences of sexual harassment while working for the company, and Uber is also facing a lawsuit from Alphabet Inc.'s autonomous car company Waymo for allegedly stealing trade secrets.
Bloomberg, Fairfax Media