Uber Embraces Major Reforms as Travis Kalanick, the C.E.O., Steps Away - The New York Times
▻https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/technology/uber-travis-kalanick-holder-report.html
In Uber’s continuing attempt to repair its reputation over a series of scandals stemming from its bad-boy culture, its co-founder Travis Kalanick said he would take a leave of absence as chief executive. The company also announced it would embark on a sweeping reorganization to ensure that executives are more closely supervised by its board of directors.
The proposed changes amounted to a rejection of the practices and culture that Uber has used to build itself into a nearly $70 billion company and upend the way people use transportation worldwide. Under Mr. Kalanick, Uber flouted rules and regulations to bring its ride-summoning service to hundreds of cities, prized growth above all else, and often turned a blind eye to corporate misbehavior.
Uber’s practices ballooned into a crisis starting in February, when a former employee wrote a blog post detailing what she said was a history of sexual harassment and lack of response from the company’s management. The post set off a deluge of other complaints from staff members about Uber’s culture, exposing a toxic environment.
Uber has tried to clean up its act. It has fired 20 employees in the last few months for transgressions that included sexual harassment. Emil Michael, a top lieutenant of Mr. Kalanick’s, left the company this week. And many other executives have departed, creating something of a leadership void at the company.