How Much More Can Uber Take

We have only reported a few of the problems that have beset Uber, the multi billion dollar internet ride sharing app cum illegal taxi service operator company since it floated on the stock market and opened itself to scrutiny. We are Boggart Blog are all petrol heads and so rarely use cabs, thus Uber's trials and tribulations have only sporadically been reported here. Following a fresh batch of scandals to add to the ones earlier in the years, more executives have resigned and the board are considering replacing the founder and CEO Travis Kalanik.

The story however should be familiar to anyone who remembers the bursting of the dotcom bubble almost twenty years ago, tech startup with no viable business model, no track record, no revenue stream and no product or service to sell obtains venture capital, invests in massive hype, floats company on stock exchange at hugely overvalued price because of tech fever. Investors pile in, founders sell their shares, make a killing and then, as directors proceed to burn investors cash on jollies and vanity projects. Having a bright idea does not equate to being a competent and responsible businessman.

Here's a lengthy write up from Zero Hedge on Uber's current problems and the likely outcome. It could be the biggest corporate train wreck since ENRON.

Uber Imploding: Chief Business Officer Resigns As Kalanick Plans "Leave Of Absence"

The uber implosion at Uber continues.
Two days after it emerged that Uber CEO Travis Kalanick had fired off a bizarre email in 2013 to hundreds of employees where he listed the conditions under which they could have sex with each other at a company outing in Miami, the WSJ reports that not only is Uber Chief Business Officer Emil Michael said to resign on Monday, just two days after it was reported that Uber's head of finance Gautam Gupta was departing to take a position at OpenDoor, but that embattled Chief Executive Travis Kalanick "will discuss taking a possible leave of absence when the board of directors of the embattled ride-hailing company meets Sunday morning."
From the WSJ:

Uber Technologies Inc. executive Emil Michael, one of Chief Executive Travis Kalanick’s closest confidants, is planning to resign as soon as Monday amid an ongoing investigation into the company’s workplace culture, according to people familiar with matter.

Mr. Michael, as chief business officer, helped oversee broad strategy initiatives including mergers and acquisitions and fundraising. He joined Uber in 2013 from Klout Inc., which rates users’ online reputation, and had worked as an adviser to technology companies.

Also on the agenda of today's meeting of the seven-person board is a vote on a series of recommendations from a report prepared by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder regarding its workplace.

It was uncertain whether Mr. Kalanick would ultimately take the leave or whether the board would approve of such a measure, which would require finding a temporary replacement in short order.?

Following  a wave of "setbacks and scandals" that have besieged the ride-hailing service earlier this year, many executives have left the company. Uber has been trying to hire a deputy for Mr. Kalanick after a leaked video in February showed Mr. Kalanick berating an Uber driver. Uber is also seeking a CFO.

Read more at Zero Hedge >>>