Added on February 23, 2017  The News Wheel   , , , , , , , ,
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Uber Realizes It’s an Absolute Dumpster Fire and Apologizes to Users Wishing to Delete Accounts

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Uber App

Many users have decided to delete their Uber accounts

If you’ve been privy to the news since the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States, then you’re well aware of some changes that have been made. After a certain executive order was established that banned restricted certain individuals from entering the US, rideshare company Uber stepped in at JFK Airport, taking advantage of the taxi strike that was occurring, and subsequently causing outrage on Twitter.

 

Uber CEO steps down from business advisory council

Once the Internet discovered that the CEO of Uber, Travis Kalanick, was to be included on the President’s business advisory council, the company faced even more backlash. Kalanick later released a statement, announcing that he would not be participating in the council, claiming that his inclusion was not meant to be an endorsement of the president’s unfavorable agenda.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick

CEO Travis Kalanick stepped down from the business advisory council in early February
Photo:Heisenberg Media

Throughout this period, Uber continuously tried to make amends by posting apologetic tweets regarding the situations and it even created a $3M legal defense fund for drivers that had been affected by the aforementioned ban. But then, on February 19th, former employee Susan Fowler shared details regarding her time working for Uber in a blog post entitled, “Reflecting on One Very, Very Strange Year at Uber.”

 

Uber struggles to extinguish controversy

The post described multiple accounts of sexism and harassment that Fowler (and other women) faced while at the company. She carefully documented her atrocious encounters with HR, even though her complaints seemed to be pointless. Throughout her career as an engineer, Fowler noted that the organization’s entire female engineer population was roughly estimated at 25% and had dropped to less than 6% by the time she left.

Uber Protest in Portland

Protestors gathered in Portland regarding the recent controversies surrounding Uber
Photo: Aaron Parecki

Since Fowler’s blog post has gone viral on the web, Uber has been trying to clean up the metaphorical mess that is its reputation. The company has even gone as far as apologizing via email after users fill out the form to delete their accounts, including a statement directly regarding Fowler’s blog post, “Everyone here at Uber is deeply hurting after reading Susan Fowler’s blog post. What she describes is abhorrent and against everything Uber stands for and believes in.”

 

More claims arise and rival company Lyft expands

To make matters even worse (yes, it can get worse), The New York Times published claims from additional Uber employees discussing harassment in the workplace, as well as the constant usage of homophobic slurs. We’re not sure how Uber is going to recover from all of this, but since rival company Lyft recently announced its availability in 54 new cities, we’re sure people will still have a way to get around.