23 June 2017, India:
Some of the Uber employees have come up with a plan to reinstate controversial former CEO Travis Kalanick- TK as known in the inner circle.
Starting late Wednesday, Uber employees circulated a petition asking the company’s board of directors to bring back Kalanick in an active role. More than 1,100 employees clicked to support Kalanick’s return in that capacity. In addition, Uber workers took to social media to express their dismay at the departure of Kalanick, who helped found Uber and made it a transportation behemoth as per the report by NY Times.
Despite the controversy surrounding Kalanick, the former CEO still has a vocal fan club at Uber, and they want him back.
Also read- Losses, Cases, Sexual Harassment: Can They Make Uber Story Great Again?
Below is the full text of the letter to the board, which was provided to Axios by a source.
Board of Directors —
I’m writing to you today ahead of your scheduled meeting to share the thoughts of over 1,100 full-time Uber employees (and counting) who vehemently disagree with Travis’ resignation as CEO and the associated pressure placed on him to do so by investors and board members alike.
In less than 12 hours, these employees have expressed their belief that Travis should return to Uber in an operational role. This magnitude of a response was unexpected and should not be ignored. What started as simple note to my closest co-workers turned into a petition spanning hundreds of offices and teams, and has yet to be seen by a majority of employees.
As the folks who’ve actually worked alongside Travis for years to help create Uber from nothing, we are extremely disappointed by the short-sightedness and pure self-interest demonstrated by those who are supposed to protect the long-term interests of our company.
Yes, Travis is flawed, as we all are. But his passion, vision, and dedication to Uber are simply unmatched. We would not be here today without him, and believe he can evolve into the leader we need. He is critical to our future success.
We await your response and look forward to Travis’ return in an operational role.
Kalanick’s resignation stunned many in Silicon Valley who viewed his position as secure, because he holds plenty of Uber’s stock and because he built the ride-hailing service into a nearly $70 billion company in just eight years. (Images- Buzzfeed News)
Also read- Uber CEO Travis Kalanick Resigns