Uber's workplace harassment problems - Sacrificial firings begin

SAN FRANCISCO — Uber Technologies Inc said on Tuesday it fired 20 employees and was improving management training following an investigation by a law firm into sexual harassment allegations and other claims at the ride-hailing company.

Uber fired the staff following a report by law firm Perkins Coie, which Uber hired to look into claims of harassment, discrimination, bullying and other employee concerns.

The law firm has been working in parallel with a broader investigation by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder into company culture and practices.

Perkins Coie investigated 215 staff complaints going back as far as 2012, Uber said, taking action in 58 cases and no action on 100 more. Other investigations are continuing.

Of the 215 claims, Uber said 54 were related to discrimination, 47 related to sexual harassment, 45 to unprofessional behaviour, 33 to bullying and 36 to other types of claims.


It said the majority of the claims came from employees based at Uber's San Francisco headquarters.

The world's highest-valued venture-backed company - worth $68 billion at its last funding round - also told staff on Tuesday it would expand its employee relations unit to better investigate claims and that it would dramatically increase management training since most Uber managers were first-time bosses, a person familiar with the matter said.

On Monday, Uber said it hired Harvard Business School professor Frances Frei to train all managers, reporting to Uber Chief Executive Travis Kalanick. On Tuesday, it said Bozoma Saint John, prominent in some Apple Inc product launches, joined the company as chief brand officer.

Uber also said it is offering a confidential helpline for employees to report concerns and has implemented a system to log and track all complaints.

YEAR OF QUESTIONS

Uber's firing of employees comes after a series of events this year that have raised questions about Uber's business model and leadership.

In February, former Uber engineer Susan Fowler said in a widely read blog post that managers and human resources officers had not punished her manager after she reported his unwanted sexual advances.

In addition, Uber was caught using technology to avoid regulator crackdowns, a video surfaced showing Kalanick berating an Uber driver, and the company is caught up in legal battles around the world over the way its ride-services business operates.


Uber is also facing a lawsuit from Alphabet Inc's self-driving car division, Waymo, alleging trade secret theft.

The company declined to comment further on the move to fire staff. Some saw it as a step in the right direction for Uber to repair its tarnished reputation.

"They are heading the right way, both with action and reaction," said Jason Hanold, manager partner at human resources executive recruitment firm Hanold Associates. He added it was "not nearly a complete and final surgery to heal a troubled culture."

The move follows a string of executive departures at Uber, including the company president, heads of finance and product, an East Coast general manager and several high-level engineers.

For the last three months, Uber has been seeking a chief operating officer to work alongside Kalanick, who has earned a reputation as a pugnacious leader. Uber board member Bill Gurley is overseeing the search.

Uber has also been under the microscope of Holder and Tammy Albarran, partners at the law firm Covington & Burling, who were asked to conduct a broad review of sexual harassment at Uber as well as general questions about diversity and inclusion. Their report was completed at the end of May and has been shared with a subcommittee of the Uber board of directors, a company representative said.

In March, Uber board member Arianna Huffington pledged to make the findings of Holder's investigation available to the public. Initially, the company had expected to make a public announcement this week, but that timing has been pushed back.

Uber is expected to discuss it with staff next week, a person familiar with the matter said.

So Uber, whose business model involves skirting by municipal taxi regulations and stealing trade secrets apparently has a super toxic workplace. Who knew?

 

[AnOminous]

Uber is a mafia and its problems will only get worse as its unlicensed taxi operation continues to cut corners and break the law, while hiring rapists and serial killers as fake taxi drivers to drive around retards and drug dealers.

 

[proteus4994]

Uber is one of those examples of everything wrong with tech culture and startups, and yet people lionize them as "defeating the evil taxi monopoly".

Maybe I'm alone here but I'd WAY rather get in the car with a licensed Paki who doesn't speak English than some random Uber potential rapist.

 

[Marvin]

I can't drive, so I love Uber because it means I don't have to carry cash. I know some taxis have credit card machines, but surprisingly enough, it's not remotely guaranteed. And I can't afford to get stranded places because the taxi only takes cash.

But Uber is full of shit when they claim they're not a taxi company. I call you up, you take me places. Sounds like a taxi to me.

 

[AnOminous]

I can't drive, so I love Uber because it means I don't have to carry cash.

I gotta be like what the fuck are you talking about. You a gimp man?

 

[Chemical snorfare]

Deputy heads must roll!

 

[Marvin]

Uber is one of those examples of everything wrong with tech culture and startups, and yet people lionize them as "defeating the evil taxi monopoly".

Nerds think they're inventing the future. And a lot of the time, they kinda are. But then again, they're also lining their pockets at the same time. So take whatever they say with a grain of salt.

It's why Sam Hyde's TED talk was so hilarious.

I gotta be like what the fuck are you talking about. You a gimp man?

Spoiler: offtopic

epilepsy

 

[AnOminous]

Nerds think they're inventing the future. And a lot of the time, they kinda are. But then again, they're also lining their pockets at the same time. So take whatever they say with a grain of salt.

It's why Sam Hyde's TED talk was so hilarious.

Spoiler: offtopic

epilepsy

Sorry. I was hoping it was something I could make fun of you for. Just being a seizuretard isn't very funny.

 

[Chemical snorfare]

Just being a seizuretard isn't very funny.

Oh for a 50/50 rating.

 

[Cato]

Maybe I'm alone here but I'd WAY rather get in the car with a licensed Paki who doesn't speak English than some random Uber potential rapist.

I've never had a bad experience with Uber and I've never had a good experience with a taxi.

While many criticisms of Uber are justified, one thing that is indisputable is that their drivers are held to a higher standard of customer service than taxi drivers. The rating system is unfair in many respects but it means drivers treat customers like customers and there are consequences if they fail to do so, whereas there is basically no industry with lower customer service standards than taxi companies. Even telecomms companies occasionally gave a lazy bit of lip service to pretending to care about their customers, while taxi companies will either ignore complaints or outright tell people to fuck off if they manage to get through to a live person to describe a bad experience to.

Also, ask any police officer about their experience with taxi drivers if you think that "a licensed Paki" is a safe alternative to an "Uber potential rapist."

 

[Marvin]

I've never had a bad experience with Uber and I've never had a good experience with a taxi.

While many criticisms of Uber are justified, one thing that is indisputable is that their drivers are held to a higher standard of customer service than taxi drivers. The rating system is unfair in many respects but it means drivers treat customers like customers and there are consequences if they fail to do so, whereas there is basically no industry with lower customer service standards than taxi companies. Even telecomms companies occasionally gave a lazy bit of lip service to pretending to care about their customers, while taxi companies will either ignore complaints or outright tell people to fuck off if they manage to get through to a live person to describe a bad experience to.

Also, ask any police officer about their experience with taxi drivers if you think that "a licensed Paki" is a safe alternative to an "Uber potential rapist."

Yeah, the problem I have with taxi companies is that they actually act a lot like legalized monopolies or maybe like unionized industries. I mean, they might not even be that (I have no clue how many taxi companies are in my area), but they act a lot like it.

They lack that... hustle, that you see with uber and lyft drivers. That desire to please the customer at all costs. Once I gave a lyft driver a bad rating because they took me on a goofy ride that ended up costing $20 (the driver decided "lol, beltway's a great way to go, even though we're just around the corner"). After I gave the rating, 10 minutes later a lyft representative called me up and refunded the whole thing.

Really, my only complaint is their claim that they're not really a taxi company. I don't know, maybe the licensing rules for taxi companies need to be eased up a bit?

If Uber is the future, then it's a bright future. Just so long as they follow the relevant laws.

 

[AnOminous]

I've never had a bad experience with Uber and I've never had a good experience with a taxi.

I've never had a non-experience with a taxi. And I speak as someone who has hundreds of confirmed taxi experiences. If I were the Navy SEALS copypasta, I could, like, totally hail a taxi. And it would, like, really get you to where you were going.

That includes the shit where the Jew taxi driver (who is actually Iranian) drives you on some convoluted route while you're screaming at him that you aren't going to pay for that and to just get on the fucking Cross Bronx Expressway and quit driving around weird places, and then you're afraid this crazy fucker is going to stab you but then he settles for the normal fare after you threaten to just pay him nothing and walk away.

Then there's the lazy dumb looking guy who pretends not to know where he's going but somehow sits at stop signs for two minutes, etc.

Most taxi experiences I've had, though, involve the guy taking you to exactly the spot you told him to take you to, super fast, even muscling other cars out of the way to get you there. And earning their tip.

I would rather get in a yellow cab with a crazed Paki who is obviously ISIS than ever enter a cab with an Uber child molester.

 

[Cato]

They lack that... hustle, that you see with uber and lyft drivers. That desire to please the customer at all costs.

That's an understatement. There is literally no other service where I can so consistently expect to be treated like a piece of shit and an inconvenience from the person I'm giving business to, for absolutely no reason. The very best I've ever experienced were drivers just being chilly but not actively rude or dishonest. Which reminds me...

I know some taxis have credit card machines, but surprisingly enough, it's not remotely guaranteed.

It's also shocking how common it is for cab drivers to claim their POS machine doesn't work and hit you up for cash ("coincidentally" without having proper change either), only to miraculously "fix" it the second you adamantly insist that you don't have cash on you.

 

[AnOminous]

They lack that... hustle, that you see with uber and lyft drivers. That desire to please the customer at all costs.

The desperate desire to please you see in prostitutes needing that next hit of crack, with no health insurance, no job security, no reason to think they'll even have a home tomorrow. How charming that is! How quaint!

I'd rather have an angry Travis Bickle drive me around than enjoy that kind of desire to please.

There is literally no other service where I can so consistently expect to be treated like a piece of shit and an inconvenience from the person I'm giving business to, for absolutely no reason.

You act like it's not fun to fight and haggle with people about literal pennies.

 

[Cato]

The desperate desire to please you see in prostitutes needing that next hit of crack, with no health insurance, no job security, no reason to think they'll even have a home tomorrow. How charming that is! How quaint!

I'd rather have an angry Travis Bickle drive me around than enjoy that kind of desire to please.

You act like it's not fun to fight and haggle with people about literal pennies.

You're an odd duck. If you actively enjoy that shit, power to you and have fun with it, but that's not exactly persuasive praise of taxis to most people.

 

[proteus4994]

The desperate desire to please you see in prostitutes needing that next hit of crack, with no health insurance, no job security, no reason to think they'll even have a home tomorrow. How charming that is! How quaint!

I'd rather have an angry Travis Bickle drive me around than enjoy that kind of desire to please.

You know how you're gonna please me? By getting me where I need to go as fast as possible and shutting the fuck up. I don't care if you have candy in your car or it smells like the hanging gardens of Babylon. Just get me there, fast and in one piece, and leave me the fuck alone.

I understand maybe I'm a bit more antisocial than most, but I find it hard to believe that anyone really WANTS to have a conversation with their taxi/Uber/Lyft driver.

 

[AnOminous]

You're an odd duck. If you actively enjoy that shit, power to you and have fun with it, but that's not exactly persuasive praise of taxis to most people.

I'm not sure how odd it is to enjoy interacting with free people, rather than desperate people who have no other options.

You know how you're gonna please me? By getting me where I need to go as fast as possible and shutting the fuck up.

Didn't I just say that? Minus the shutting the fuck up part. I've found the cabbies who actually do get you the fuck there the fastest, and in the most sociopathic manner, by terrorizing the rest of the traffic, are also the most talkative. They get the biggest tips.

Tips are the language of the service economy.

 

[Chemical snorfare]

I've found the cabbies who actually do get you the fuck there the fastest, and in the most sociopathic manner, by terrorizing the rest of the traffic, are also the most talkative.

Speed, definitely speed.

 

[proteus4994]

Didn't I just say that?

I was agreeing with you.

 

[AnOminous]

I was agreeing with you.

I didn't mean to sound like I was disagreeing with you. My aggressive, confrontational manner stems from the fact that I usually am disagreeing with anyone I even talk to.

Sorry.