At a time when Uber is looking for its next COO, Uber’s president, and second-in-command, Jeff Jones, quit after just six months into the job. As per Recode, Jones’ quitting the company is in the light of multiple controversies ailing the company, including charges of sexism and sexual harassment.
In a statement to Recode, Jones confirmed his resignation saying, “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.”
Uber, too, released an official statement about Jones’ departure wishing him luck and thanking him for his six months in the company.
In a note to the company, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick told his employees that Jeff came to the ‘tough’ decision that he doesn’t see his future at Uber. “It is unfortunate that this was announced through the press but I thought it was important to send all of you an email before providing comment publicly,” he added.
Jones joined Uber at the end of august and was heading the company’s customer support and marketing. He was also the president of Uber’s ride-sharing business. Additionally, his role also included improving the company’s image.
It has indeed been a tough couple of month for the cab aggregator. Since the beginning of this year, Uber has been ailing with several controversies.
In February, a former engineer wrote a blog on the misogyny she suffered at Uber. In the same month, Google’s parent company Alphabet filed a suit against Uber after an email exchange revealed striking resemblance between the self-driving car designs of both companies
March saw more controversy for the company. The New York Times reported that Uber had developed a tool that it used to deliberately deceive authorities in cities that had either banned the app or were trying to restrict its use.
The company also saw several top level exits. As per a CNN report Uber's head of growth and product, Ed Baker, resigned from the company earlier this month.
And Amit Singhal, Uber’s head of engineering, resigned in late February after Recode reported that he resigned from his previous job at Google because of sexual harassment claims.