Uber CEO resigns under shareholders pressure

Uber CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick tells The New York Times that he has resigned. Kalanick, who just last week announced he was taking an indefinite leave from the company he co-founded, was forced out after investors decided the company needed a change in leadership, according to a letter sent to Kalanick and obtained by the Times.

“I love Uber more than anything in the world and at this difficult moment in my personal life I have accepted the investors request to step aside so that Uber can go back to building rather than be distracted with another fight,” Kalanick said in a statement given to the Times.

“Travis has always put Uber first,” the company’s board said in a statement. “This is a bold decision and a sign of his devotion and love for Uber. By stepping away, he’s taking the time to heal from his personal tragedy while giving the company room to fully embrace this new chapter in Uber’s history. We look forward to continuing to serve with him on the board.”

The move comes at a pivotal time for the largest ride-hailing company. After eight years of phenomenal growth by upending the taxi business, Uber had reached a point where the free-wheeling culture that created the company had become an albatross that threatened to kill it.

While growing from a small startup, Uber developed a reputation for ruthless tactics that have occasionally outraged government regulators, drivers, riders and its employees.

The company's hard-charging style has led to legal trouble. The U.S. Justice Department is investigating Uber's past usage of phony software designed to thwart local government regulators who wanted to check on whether Uber was carrying passengers without permission.

Uber also is fighting allegations that it relies on a key piece of technology stolen from Google spin-off Waymo to build self-driving cars.

The Silicon Valley startup has been trying to improve its workplace culture after being roiled with allegations of sexual bias and harassment at the company. Last week, Uber released a report on an investigation into those claims, with the recommendation that Kalanick be stripped of some of his responsibilities. The Uber CEO then said he would take a leave of absence “to become the leader that this company needs,” but has now been forced to resign.

There is no replacement for Kalanick lined up at Uber, which has recently lost its top financial and operating heads among other executive departures, the WSJ report noted. A spokesperson for Uber could not immediately be reached for comment.