Uber is dealing with a whole lot of controversy right now — executive departures, sexual harassment claims, legal fights — and the ride-hailing giant held a press conference with reporters on Tuesday to provide an update.
On the call were Uber board member Arianna Huffington; Chief Human Resources Officer Liane Hornsey; and Head of U.S. & Canada Rachel Holt. You can read their prepared remarks here.
The focus of the call was Uber’s diversity, its treatment of drivers, and the company’s leadership.
“So, I’ve been here at Uber for 11 weeks,” Hornsey said. “For someone like me who deals with changing cultures, being at Uber is exactly where I want to be. Because clearly, there’s a lot of work to be done.”
Asked if Uber CEO Travis Kalanick would be willing to step down — the company is hiring for a COO — Huffington said that it “hasn’t been addressed because it hasn’t come up and we don’t expect it to come up.”
The execs also shared some updated stats on Uber, including:
- Last week, riders in the U.S. took more trips with Uber than ever before.
- In 2016, the number of Uber employees doubled.
Some tweets from reporters:
uber basically saying "yes shit is toxic but we are making money so investors can chill"
— ಠ_ಠ (@MikeIsaac) March 21, 2017
Seems like Uber's damage control strategy is like, stop writing mean stories, we've got ladies here dealing with things, it's ok
— Selena Larson (@selenalarson) March 21, 2017
I imagine Arianna quietly staring at Travis, who is behind glass in a sterile room growing a new appendage. https://t.co/Y8vMIiv8mg
— Heather Kelly ? (@heatherkelly) March 21, 2017
#DeleteUber not having an impact? Uber says last week, its riders in the U.S. took more trips than ever before
— sara ashley o'brien (@saraashleyo) March 21, 2017