Trouble deepens at Uber as president abruptly quits
Jeff Jones joined the ride-hailing company just six months ago
The earthquake that has hit Uber in the past few weeks has taken down another executive.
Jeff Jones, a former Target chief marketing officer who joined the ride-hailing company last August, abruptly announced Sunday that he was stepping down as president.
Uber issued a brief statement thanking Jones for “his six months at the company.”
A memo from Uber CEO Travis Kalanick to his staff suggested that the news took top management by surprise, and that Jones left partly because he was not under consideration for the new chief operating officer role.
“After we announced our intention to hire a COO, Jeff came to the tough decision that he doesn’t see his future at Uber,” Kalanick wrote. “It is unfortunate that this was announced through the press.”
Jones’ departure was first noted earlier on Sunday in Recode. That report included a Jones statement putting the blame on the turmoil facing Uber, which range from an ex-employee’s experiences with an alleged sexist work environment to a lawsuit brought by Alphabet-owned Waymo over self-driving car technology.
Those issues recently caused Kalanick to apologize to his staff, admit he needed to “grow up” as a leader, and announce he was looking for a number two to help him address internal issues.
“It is now clear that the beliefs and approach to leadership that have guided my career are inconsistent with what I saw and experienced at Uber, and I can no longer continue as president of the ride-sharing business,” Jones told Recode.
Kalanick was not without a few good words about Jones’ short stint, praising Jones’ efforts at making the company more focused on its drivers.
Those very drivers reacted angrily Sunday, upset not so much by Jones’ news but at what some see as Uber’s continued secondclass treatment of its global army of drivers.
“It’s frustrating that the sole executive charged with being driver-obsessed has left the company without making a single improvement to help drivers struggling to make a living,” said Ryan Price in a statement.
Price is executive director of the Independent Drivers Guild, which represents and advocates for 50,000 ride-hail drivers in New York City.
“If Uber truly cares about ‘growing up’ and listening to drivers, they should start by adding a tipping option,” he wrote. “That’s the No. 1 request from drivers.”
Uber is among the fastestgrowing tech start-ups in history, launching in 2009 as a way to order idle black town cars and over the next eight years evolving into a global brand worth $68 billion.
“The beliefs and approach to leadership that have guided my career are inconsistent with (Uber).” Jeff Jones, in a statement to Recode