TOBY SHAPSHAK: Uber's bad boys’ own goal
Uber's CEO has fallen on his sword. The company's PR disaster is of its own making
The only company experiencing more bad press than Eskom or anything related to the Guptas is ride-hailing operation Uber. The world’s most valuable start-up, at US$69bn, has suffered a slew of disastrous revelations about its executives’ conduct, corporate culture — including sexual harassment allegations — and accusations of intellectual property theft for its autonomous car project. Then there are reports of bad behaviour by CEO Travis Kalanick, who yesterday announced his resignation. It has evolved into a perfect storm for Uber. In February former engineer Susan Fowler made allegations in a blog post of having experienced sexual harassment and discrimination. Even attempts to mitigate sexism have devolved into scandal. Last week, as it was announced that another woman would join Arianna Huffington on Uber’s board, a male board member made a sexist comment and himself resigned. The list of own goals is long and astounding. They include that Uber found a way to keep law enforcemen...
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