All the speculation around the turmoil over seems to be missing one key component. I think a bigger driving force then this sexual harassment and CEO antics is the waymo lawsuit. Uber itself has acknowledged that without self-driving capabilities the company will most likely not find profitability. From reporting I've read, it appears the waymo lawsuit has a high probability of success.<p>If the waymo lawsuit essentially forces Uber to start its self driving program back from scratch then the path to self-driving viability has essentially been scrapped. To me, this is a better explanation of the recent spat of high-level exits from the company.
On the story about Jeff Jones, someone commented that Kalanick has a stock arrangement that gives him control of the board. Does anyone know if this is true? I can't see how they can let this hemorrhaging continue when the problem is obviously Kalanick's leadership. But it shows no signs of stopping.<p>The only other thing I could think of is that the board is complicit in something worse than what's been exposed, and is afraid Kalanick will blow things up if they move on him.<p>EDIT:
BBC is now reporting that two separate internal sources at Uber say Kalanick will step down when a new COO is in place.<p><a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-39323828" rel="nofollow">http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-39323828</a>
Now every departure is viewed with suspicion. With a 10,000 person company there is going to be exec departures, but even normal departures will have rumors attached to them (why did they really leave? Isn't the timing odd? Was something about to come out?)<p>Every senior person leaving Uber now has to manage their image as they leave. And every journalist is digging to see if there is any dirt.
In case the name doesn't ring a bell, Brian was one of the creators of what became Google Earth and spent over 10 years at Google before jumping ship to Uber in 2015.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_McClendon" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_McClendon</a>
Doesn't seem like much of a real story:<p>> Mr. McClendon is departing amicably from Uber and will be an adviser to the company. ... His exit has been in the works for some time
"In a statement, he said he was moving back to Kansas, where he is from, to explore politics. His exit has been in the works for some time, and his last day at Uber is March 28."
If you're getting the paywall, as I did, another story on the same topic: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-vp-of-maps-brian-mcclendon-is-leaving-2017-3" rel="nofollow">http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-vp-of-maps-brian-mcclend...</a><p>Includes a list of other recent Uber departures.
Travis is destroying Uber and his ego is so big, he won't step down which would save the image of Uber somewhat. What a trainwreck, I deleted the app and quite a few of my friends did as well. What a disgusting company and the way it's being run is just gross negligence.