Uber boss forced to take a break as scandals grow
UBER’S under-fire chief has been forced to take an unspecified leave of absence after a spiralling series of scandals.
Billionaire Travis Kalanick said he was responsible for the taxi firm’s problems and that he needed to go away to become a better boss.
‘If we are going to work on Uber 2.0, I also need to work on Travis 2.0 to become the leader that this company needs and that you deserve,’ he said in a memo to staff.
The 40- year- old also said he needed time off to grieve for his mother, who died in a boating acci- dent in May. ‘I need to take some time off of the day-to-day to grieve [and] to reflect, to work on myself, and to focus on building a worldclass leadership team,’ he said.
‘It’s hard to put a timeline on this – it may be shorter or longer than we might expect.’
Uber’s announcement came as former US Attorney General Eric Holder called for a slew of major changes at the scandal-hit firm following a lengthy investigation. His far-reaching set of recommendations, published yesterday, called for Mr Kalanick’s sweeping powers to be reined in and the appointment of an independent chairman and directors.
Mr Holder also wants Uber to spell out changes to its toxic culture – such as banning sexual relationships between bosses and their staff and setting clear guidelines over the use of drugs and alcohol.
The former US attorney general was asked to investigate Uber after a former employee lifted a lid on a rampant culture of bullying and sexism.
The Daily Mail has exposed its close ties to former Prime Minister David Cameron and a Downing Street lobbying campaign to get Boris Johnson to protect Uber while he was London Mayor.
Mr Kalanick’s own reputation has also been called into question, after a leaked video showed him getting into a foul-mouthed row with an Uber driver.
Last week it was claimed that HMRC missed out on £40million in VAT from the taxi firm thanks to its legal but highly controversial tax avoidance tactic.
Uber has already fired more than 20 people following the probe.
‘Become the leader you deserve’