Uber’s President Jeff Jones has been the latest to leave the car-hailing company in the series of scandals it has faced.
Only six months after joining from retailer Target, Jeff Jones was given the task of improving Uber’s brand and reputation – something he struggled with following a string of controversies surrounding the company.
“We want to thank Jeff for his six months at the company and wish him all the best,” a spokesperson from Uber said on Sunday.
The controversies seen over the past six months included several allegations of sexual harassment and legal battle with Google over their autonomous car unit, Waymo (NASDAQ:GOOGL).
CEO Travis Kalanick was also filmed berating an Uber driver who confronted him about the steep cuts in Uber’s rates.
Jones told Recode: “It is now clear . . . that the beliefs and approach to leadership that have guided my career are inconsistent with what I saw and experienced at Uber, and I can no longer continue as president of the ride-sharing business.”
Staff at Uber were told just before the press over the weekend. Travis Kalanick emailed employees telling them: “After we announced our intention to hire a COO, Jeff came to the tough decision that he doesn’t see his future at Uber.”
“It is unfortunate that this was announced through the press, but I thought it was important to send all of you an email before providing comment publicly.”
Jones is not the only member of Uber to have left recently. Last month Amit Singhal, a top engineer, left the car-hailing company just five weeks after he was hired after it was revealed that the reason he had left his job at Google was due to sexual harassment allegations.
Charlie Miller, Uber’s top security researcher, also resigned earlier this month to join Didi, China’s larger ride-hailing company.