Uber president Jeff Jones is quitting, citing differences over beliefs and approach to leadership

[FrodosNewPet]

Source: recode

by Kara Swisher and Johana Bhuiyan Mar 19, 2017, 4:33pm EDT

Jeff Jones, the president of Uber, is quitting the car-hailing company after less than a year. The move by the No. 2 exec, said sources, is directly related to the multiple controversies there, including explosive charges of sexism and sexual harassment.

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Jones, said sources, determined that this was not the situation he signed on for, especially after Uber CEO Travis Kalanick announced a search for a new COO to help him right the very troubled ship.

That was not the reason for Jones’ departure, sources said, even though it meant that Kalanick was bringing in a new exec who could outrank him. Instead, these sources said, Jones determined that the situation at the company was more problematic than he realized.

~ snip ~

The situation at the company has deteriorated since then, obviously, after a blog post by a former female engineer chronicled a deeply dysfunctional management led by Kalanick that favored what board member Arianna Huffington called “brilliant jerks.”

~ snip ~

Read more: http://www.recode.net/2017/3/19/14976110/uber-president-jeff-jones-quits

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Here is Jones’ full statement:

I joined Uber because of its Mission, and the challenge to build global capabilities that would help the company mature and thrive long-term.

It is now clear, however, that the beliefs and approach to leadership that have guided my career are inconsistent with what I saw and experienced at Uber, and I can no longer continue as president of the ride sharing business.

There are thousands of amazing people at the company, and I truly wish everyone well.

[LisaM]

1. What about the fact that they break the law in almost every market they enter?

Not to mention that they seem to be on a mission to eliminate workers.

[FrodosNewPet]

4. That doesn't matter to a lot of people. They hate taxis and love cheap rides.

But it is all coming back on Uber. Their goal of killing traditional taxi and public transportation services is looking more and more like a murder-suicide. Meanwhile, if you use Uber long enough, you will end up with bad experiences. The drivers are getting more frustrated and rude. The quality of the cars is dropping. Stolen account fraud, long riding, and billing errors are increasing. There are even fliers and web postings about how to get free rides by lying about your driver.

They are using predatory pricing to drive out the competition. Unfortunately, that tactic means that they are losing money year after year. So they have to rely on investment capital to pay ongoing expenses.Unless they find a path to profitability, they will eventually run out of investor capital and future investors to provide more capital.

[FrodosNewPet]

2. Travis Kalanick's back-stabbing fratboy philosophy may end up destroying Uber

And that sucks for a lot of people who rely on Uber for income or transportation.

[rpannier]

3. If Uber goes out business... good

They continually flout national, state/provincial and local laws and do not care
Their ultra-libertarian philosophy toward business is a major part of the problem in the world. All these f***ing Masters of all Time execs who believe they are above the law

[Honeycombe8]

5. Sounds like they lost a good man.

That's low, to bring in someone else to be over the President, after hiring a new President who was supposed to be the directly under the CEO.

[FrodosNewPet]

6. Uber is a great concept, but damaged by the ego of its founder

Who would have thought cut throat libertarianism can only take you so far until you've made so many enemies that it costs you dearly?

[MN_Caucus]

8. The fact that the company's name is UBER should have been a hint

On the one hand, it's not a bad idea to let people use their one real resource, their car, as a way to make money on the side when they can / want.

On the other hand... omfg yes it's unfair competition. a level playing field means EVERYONE has to play by the rules!

An uber like setup run by region, or even a gov-run operation for people on the lower end of the spectrum is still a great idea. Have them run gov-owned and maintained vehicles because taxis are BLOODY EXPENSIVE!

If you could replace some of the blood thirstier taxi companies with fair-leveled gov-run cabs I think it'd be an improvement for everyone. The cabbies get a better, more stable wage, the vehicles get greener, and people get a safer, more affordable ride.

I think uber took off because of a rebellion against the cab companies more than the drivers themselves... mostly.

[FrodosNewPet]

9. The reason taxis are as expensive as they are is they don't have deep pocket investors

They have to rely on the fares themselves for operating expenses, such as driver and dispatcher pay, licenses and permits, insurance, vehicle maintenance and replacement, advertising and marketing.

Uber has shifted a lot of those expenses onto the drivers, without educating them on how to successfully run a personal transportation business. They don't tell drivers they need an "Oh, s***t!" fund to cover major repairs and down time. And of course they bulldoze over the licenses and permits, while putting drivers in a position where many have lost their car insurance due to the "no livery" clause most personal car insurance policies have.

And a big chunk of Uber's expenses (recruiting and marketing, salaries, insurance, legal expenses, R&D, customer service, data bandwidth, etc) are paid with investor capital.

So it is a lot easier to get low fares when you are not relying on those fares for expenses and profitability.

[bitterross]

7. I will not use Uber or Lyft - Not Ever

Both of them take business away from the cabbies who have to obey regulations. This is just another union-killing business.

At what point will we finally get to the conclusion that just because it is cheap and easy for me personally doesn't make it good for the rest of society? Nothing comes for free (or really cheap) and with no effort that is worth having.

[susanna]

10. So much thank you and YES!

My husband uses them and I get irritated by it all the time; it really is regulation-killing and it is a very slippery slope.

Welcome to DU, bitteross; though you have 75 posts - I haven't seen you before, and want to say Hi.