Uber CEO Travis Kalanick Resigns, And Twitter Is Understandably As Unsympathetic As He Was

It¡¯s official, Travis Kalanick has stepped down as CEO of Uber. The announcement follows closely in the wake of what was supposed to be Kalanick¡¯s temporary leave of absence from the company.

Reuters

Uber has had a rough time of late, with a string of scandals and controversies threatening to drown the ride-hailing service. The company has been accused of ignoring complaints of sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace, illegally obtaining medical records of a woman raped by an Uber driver, and causing major salary discrepancies between employees through its hiring and processes.

Just last week, Uber¡¯s board of directors met before an investor briefing, to discuss what was to happen to Kalanick, under whose watch the company has suffered. He¡¯s seen as brash and combative both within and without the company, and is viewed among Uber drivers as an unsympathetic boss. The board of directors was reportedly at the time considering forcing Kalanick to step away from the company for a time, in order for it to find his feet.

According to the New York Times, Kalanick was at the Uber investor meet this Tuesday, where a few major investors demanded he step down immediately. Kalanick reportedly agreed to comply after ¡°hours of discussions¡±, but will stay on Uber¡¯s board of directors and retain his majority voting shares.

¡°I love Uber more than anything in the world and at this difficult moment in my personal life I have accepted the investors¡¯ request to step aside so that Uber can go back to building rather than be distracted with another fight,¡± Kalanick told NYT.

¡°Travis has always put Uber first,¡± the board of directors said in a statement. ¡°This is a bold decision and a sign of his devotion and love for Uber. By stepping away, he¡¯s taking the time to heal from his personal tragedy while giving the company room to fully embrace this new chapter in Uber¡¯s history. We look forward to continuing to serve with him on the board.¡± (Kalanick had recently taken a leave of absence from the company following the death of his mother).

When Kalanick co-founded Uber in 2009, it quickly shot to the top of the ride-hailing industry, but at a cost. Uber¡¯s own apparently callous and aggressive business policies have been seen as a reflection of Kalanick himself, one that¡¯s let it speedily grow to a giant in the industry, but has also seen it struggle to retain even half of the new drivers it brings on. Indeed, Twitter isn't exactly surprised, or even sad to see Kalanick go.

Wow, looks like Travis Kalanick has big plans for the future: pic.twitter.com/PXvneGem5Q

¡ª Pixelated Boat (@pixelatedboat) June 21, 2017

TRAVIS KALANICK THE MORALLY BANKRUPT CEO OF UBER
WHO TAKES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS DISGUSTING DRIVERS #deleteuber pic.twitter.com/F2GNPeLFXF

¡ª FRANK BULLITT (@FrankBullitt39) June 21, 2017

Kalanick is a child. Huffington is nothing more than an overpaid nanny whose only experience in livery is screaming at chauffeurs.

¡ª Brian Riccio (@Trumpwatching1) June 20, 2017

Travis Kalanick resignations is just code for rebranding b/c the investors realized he was becoming a liability as the face of the company.

¡ª Jaye Hubbs (@jayehubbs) June 21, 2017

Now with Kalanick out of the picture, it¡¯s up to his successor to turn the company around, and that¡¯s not going to be easy task. Uber's policies need to be reworked, and the new CEO has to be able to charm the pants off a disillusioned company workforce. But hey, at least it¡¯s a start.