Nearly 1000 Uber India employees sign global petition asking ousted CEO Travis to return

Employees feel that his resignation as a CEO is a bad idea where business and growth is concerned.
Nearly 1000 Uber India employees sign global petition asking ousted CEO Travis to return
Nearly 1000 Uber India employees sign global petition asking ousted CEO Travis to return
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There is a global petition calling on recently quit Uber CEO Travis Kalanick to return to the company in an operational role.

A majority of Uber India’s 1000 employees too have signed this global petition, reports the Economic Times.

Investors unhappy over Travis’ management of the company forced him to quit on June 21. Investors were reportedly unhappy with Travis’ inability to resolve accusations of a pervasive 'bro' culture of harassment and other issues.

Many employees have also been taking to Facebook groups through their profiles to indicate their displeasure with Kalanick's departure from the company he co-founded and built.

“Uber isn't the same without Travis. The company may be slammed because of its work culture and ethical concerns with regulatory bodies but his resignation as a CEO is just a bad idea where business and growth is concerned. Many of us are against this and want him back,” an employee told ET.

The New York Times had earlier reported that Uber and its investors were facing a backlash over Kalanick's departure from employees with the petition, signed by over 1000 employees, seeking his return being circulated late Wednesday.

Uber India staffers are passing around an email that directs employees to an internal link asking employees to show their support for Kalanick anonymously.

"My ask is simple: one click (and an optional note) to express your support for Travis' return. The form is totally anonymous. I will deliver the results to the board," says the letter.

“Travis was hands-on when it came to dealing with day-to-day operations. He was approachable by literally anyone in the company, across different levels. That's not the kind of CEO one gets everyday,” another executive told ET.

ET reports that employees are worried that India may cease to be an area of focus as it was under Kalanick.

“It's especially of concern to us because we think India might take a back seat and Travis generally cared about getting business done here and always came up with solutions for dealing with day-to-day obstacles we came across,“ said the first employee said.

This is not the first time a founder has been forced to leave his own company. Steve Jobs was famously fired in 1985 from Apple, the company he and Steve Wozniak cofounded in a garage.

Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 when the company was in poor shape and turned it into the powerhouse it is today. 

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