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Uber is facing the biggest crisis in its history

economist.com

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Re: Uber is facing the biggest crisis in its history

#11

Post by sschueller »

twblalock wrote: post #6

Here's the money quote: > If Mr Gurley and the rest of the board cannot find an experienced candidate willing to work with Mr Kalanick, calls for him to step down may grow louder. But that is his decision to take. Uber is a prominent example of founders’ power at fast-growing tech firms. On its own, Uber’s board does not have the clout to change the CEO, because of his super-voting shares and those of his co-founder,…

Well the Captain should be the last one to leave the sinking ship that he ran into the iceberg. :)

At this point I don't know if even a new CEO could save this company.

Re: Uber is facing the biggest crisis in its history

#12

Post by ganfortran »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #2

Honestly, how many other companies, government agencies, or other organizations would hold up under the kind of coordinated, orchestrated drubbing that the media has dished out to Uber over the last couple of months?

Well, it all starts with the work harassment blog, which is entirely personal and nothing to do with media. The Waymo lawsuit too.

Uber did those shitty stuff itself. Media did exactly what it supposed to do, to spread the information to a wider audience here.

Re: Uber is facing the biggest crisis in its history

#13

Post by CamperBob2 »

trome wrote: post #9
CamperBob2 wrote: post #2

Honestly, how many other companies, government agencies, or other organizations would hold up under the kind of coordinated, orchestrated drubbing that the media has dished out to Uber over the last couple of months?

How has it been coordinated? Most of these things, like worker harassment which was reported on twice, once perpetrated by a childish CEO who is still in charge, is self inflicted. Travis didn't have to join Trump's Tech Advisory Committee either, that was a choice he made.

Around twenty people signed on to Trump's advisory committee, many of them very well-known figures in the tech and manufacturing industries.

How many others, besides Kalanick, can you name off the top of your head?

Thought so.

Re: Uber is facing the biggest crisis in its history

#14

Post by clamprecht »

twblalock wrote: post #6

Here's the money quote: > If Mr Gurley and the rest of the board cannot find an experienced candidate willing to work with Mr Kalanick, calls for him to step down may grow louder. But that is his decision to take. Uber is a prominent example of founders’ power at fast-growing tech firms. On its own, Uber’s board does not have the clout to change the CEO, because of his super-voting shares and those of his co-founder,…

I know Steve Jobs is the exception that proves the rule, but still, Apple fired Steve.

Re: Uber is facing the biggest crisis in its history

#15

Post by aceinaday »

IMHO as a part-time Uber driver, Uber could fix a lot of their current problems by putting tipping into the app. The self-driving car is not here yet, and Uber does not do enough for its drivers. If they would just add tipping I think that better drivers in better cars would start driving again. Without the tips, it's just not worth it.

Re: Uber is facing the biggest crisis in its history

#16

Post by twblalock »

shostack wrote: post #10
twblalock wrote: post #6

Here's the money quote: > If Mr Gurley and the rest of the board cannot find an experienced candidate willing to work with Mr Kalanick, calls for him to step down may grow louder. But that is his decision to take. Uber is a prominent example of founders’ power at fast-growing tech firms. On its own, Uber’s board does not have the clout to change the CEO, because of his super-voting shares and those of his co-founder,…

While I'm not sure I disagree with you, devil's advocate here...do you think you'd feel the same way as a founder who could prevent yourself from ever being fired from your own company? I can think of several situations where retaining that kind of control would be hugely beneficial and important (in the right hands of course, which is the whole issue here).

I suspect that most CEOs would like that level of control, but they shouldn't get it.

Re: Uber is facing the biggest crisis in its history

#17

Post by twblalock »

aceinaday wrote: post #15

IMHO as a part-time Uber driver, Uber could fix a lot of their current problems by putting tipping into the app. The self-driving car is not here yet, and Uber does not do enough for its drivers. If they would just add tipping I think that better drivers in better cars would start driving again. Without the tips, it's just not worth it.

I don't think a lack of drivers is really a problem for Uber, at least not in major cities. Plenty of people are willing to drive for Uber currently, despite the bad publicity.

Re: Uber is facing the biggest crisis in its history

#18

Post by robbyking »

aianus wrote: post #7

As a part-time Uber driver in Toronto I haven't noticed any drop-off in ride requests whatsoever. Uber will survive, at least unless someone else beats them to market with an autonomous alternative. I don't get any incentives or bonuses either, just ~75% of the gross receipts from the customer.

I think it's important to remember that Uber users aren't loyal: if a ride isn't immediately available through Uber, they use Lyft; if Lyft isn't available, they go to the next app.

While I agree that the service is here to stay, the individual players are likely to shift.

Re: Uber is facing the biggest crisis in its history

#19

Post by rthomas6 »

aianus wrote: post #7

As a part-time Uber driver in Toronto I haven't noticed any drop-off in ride requests whatsoever. Uber will survive, at least unless someone else beats them to market with an autonomous alternative. I don't get any incentives or bonuses either, just ~75% of the gross receipts from the customer.

It doesn't matter if Uber's not actually making money. And they're not, last I heard.

Re: Uber is facing the biggest crisis in its history

#20

Post by hhw »

67726e wrote: post #3
CamperBob2 wrote: post #2

Honestly, how many other companies, government agencies, or other organizations would hold up under the kind of coordinated, orchestrated drubbing that the media has dished out to Uber over the last couple of months?

I'm not at all a fan of Uber, but at this point it seems like a coordinated smear campaign.

I think a lot of people have always had a negative view of Travis Kalanick and Uber's business practices, but they enjoyed the convenience of the service just enough to look the other way. Between the soaring valuation and recent events, that balance has shifted to the point where some people now refuse to use the service. At the same time, there is a lot of schadenfreude by people who disagree either with the valuation, or Travis Kalanick and the company's ethos. The media is just tapping into this interest with their coverage, as is their nature to do. So if anything, I'd say it's more like karmic retribution than a coordinated smear campaign.
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