After months of speculation, Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick stepped down as Uber CEO this week after the company’s board of directors made it clear that Kalanick’s role inside the company was more of a detriment than a benefit.
“I love Uber more than anything in the world,” Kalanick said in a statement, “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.”
Indeed, Uber over the past few years has been embroiled in one controversy after another. Not only has the company been criticized for engaging in unethical business practices — such as when it ordered thousands of fake rides from Lyft — but the company’s corporate culture was also criticized for fostering a hostile working environment towards women.
With Kalanick officially out, Uber is currently searching for someone to assume the CEO reins.
In the interim, not everyone inside of Uber is thrilled that Kalanick is leaving. According to a new report from Axios, more than 1,000 Uber employees have signed their name to a letter sent to the company’s board of directors. The letter, which you can read in its entirety below, articulates their dissatisfaction with Kalanick’s forced ouster.
Board of Directors —
I’m writing to you today ahead of your scheduled meeting to share the thoughts of over 1,100 full-time Uber employees (and counting) who vehemently disagree with Travis’ resignation as CEO and the associated pressure placed on him to do so by investors and board members alike.
In less than 12 hours, these employees have expressed their belief that Travis should return to Uber in an operational role. This magnitude of a response was unexpected and should not be ignored. What started as simple note to my closest co-workers turned into a petition spanning hundreds of offices and teams, and has yet to be seen by a majority of employees.
As the folks who’ve actually worked alongside Travis for years to help create Uber from nothing, we are extremely disappointed by the short-sightedness and pure self-interest demonstrated by those who are supposed to protect the long-term interests of our company.
Yes, Travis is flawed, as we all are. But his passion, vision, and dedication to Uber are simply unmatched. We would not be here today without him, and believe he can evolve into the leader we need. He is critical to our future success.
We await your response and look forward to Travis’ return in an operational role.
Clearly, the drama surrounding the current saga is far from over.
