Uber's CEO has left the building.
Kalanick framed the leave as needing "to take some time off of the day-to-day to grieve my mother, whom I buried on Friday, to reflect, to work on myself, and to focus on building out a world-class leadership team". Tragically losing a loved one has been hard for me and I need to properly say my goodbyes.
At a staff meeting Tuesday, the company conveyed the results of a probe conducted by Eric Holder, the former US attorney general who Uber hired to look into allegations of harassment, discrimination and an aggressive culture.
The internal probe was based on a litany of allegations made by former Uber engineer Susan Fowler, including that she was discriminated against based on her gender and that the company ignored her repeated complaints of sexual harassment at the hands of her supervisor, basing it on the fact that he was a "high performer".
With all the controversies swirling around the company, the $708m loss that the firm made in Q1 was barely remarked upon, but the company's difficulty in reducing costs and establishing a sustainable business have made investors as hesitant to back it further as all the other rumours over the past year.
The report also recommends adding more independent directors and replacing its chairman, Uber co-founder Garrett Camp, with an independent chairman. The report recommends Uber create rules around the acceptable and unacceptable use of alcohol and should "strictly prohibit the use of controlled substances". Uber's troubles over the past few months have attracted a lot of bad press and there are genuine concerns that the company might be on the verge of implosion and corrective measures became necessary.
Uber's board met Sunday with Holder and consultant Tammy Albarran to discuss the findings and "unanimously voted to adopt all the recommendations" of the report, according to the source.
In March, Uber president Jeff Jones stepped down from his job, less than a year after being appointed, saying his "beliefs and approach to leadership" were "inconsistent" with what he had experienced at the company.
In a 13-page document, report authors from the law firm Covington & Burling LLP issue recommendations they categorize into 10 distinct groups, including "changes to senior leadership" and "improvements to human resources and the complaint process".
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Fowler was less than impressed by the recommendations, describing it in a tweet as "all optics".
Many recommendations involve putting in processes to professionalize the way that Uber is run.
Her task at Uber will be to improve its brand image so people like it as well as they like the company's ride services, an Uber spokeswoman said. The Kapors had previously blasted the company's culture.
As of June 6, a total of 20 Uber employees were fired. In 2014, Michael was forced to publicly apologize after suggesting that Uber should dig up and publicize dirt on journalists who are critical of the company.
The new plan is emerging at a time of turmoil for Uber's top executives. Company values like "toe-stepping", she said, were being changed.
Uber's board said it would review Kalanick's responsibilities and reassign some to others.
Kalanick previously admitted he needed to "fundamentally change as a leader and grow up" after video surfaced of him arguing with an Uber driver. While some say it is because of the great personal tragedy that struck the Kalanick family last month, others attribute it to professional reason. The COO, yet to be hired, would be a partner with Kalanick.
Kalanick told employees Tuesday that he'd be taking an indefinite leave of absence.
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