Just in:
Universal Language for Healthcare: General Authority Embraces Global Coding System // Sharjah Chamber Breaks Ground on Final Expansion with New HQ Pact // German Job Market Resilience Bodes Well for Economic Recovery // Meta Earth Official Website Launch: The Pioneer Explorer in the Modular Public Blockchain Domain // Renewables Surge Sets Record, But Global Equity Lags // Experience Ultimate Shopping Freedom at 4.4 Shopee Spree: Don’t Worry, Shop Shopee! // TUMI Hosts Global Launch Event in Singapore to Unveil Women’s Asra Collection and Announce Global Ambassador, Mun Ka Young // French Leaders Gather for Interfaith Iftar Dinner // AIA Hong Kong Wins More Than 20 Accolades at MPF Ratings MPF Awards, BENCHMARK MPF of The Year Awards and Bloomberg Businessweek Top Fund Awards // U.S. Compliance Takes Center Stage at OKX Following Industry Jitters // Following the Money Trail: US and UK Investigate $20 Billion in USDT Transfers Tied to Sanctioned Russian Exchange // Sharpening the Focus: Sharjah Health Department Refines Evaluation Criteria for “Healthy Schools Programme” // Global Audience to Witness Thrill of Dubai World Cup // Superland Announced Annual Results for 2023, 2023 Net Profit Increased approximately 39.5% to approximately HK$22.2 million as Compared to the 2022 Adjusted One // Hope for Respite as UAE Endorses UN Plea for Gaza Truce // Infineon and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering jointly develop ship electrification technology // Konica Minolta is named ASEAN 2023 Market Leader in Colour Light and Mid Digital Production Printers // Andertoons by Mark Anderson for Thu, 28 Mar 2024 // Arvind Kejriwal Was Used By BJP In 2011 Movement To Take On The Congress // First-Ever Fortune Innovation Forum Draws Top Global Leaders to Hong Kong, Promoting Agendas On Collective Cross-Sector Advancement //
HomeFT SelectUber employees lose faith and explore exit

Uber employees lose faith and explore exit

886df48c ff32 11e6 8d8e a5e3738f9ae4

Recruiters in the Bay Area and executives at rival companies say they have seen an uptick in job applications from Uber employees, as its workers lose faith in the company’s leadership and start to doubt the value of their stock options.

Uber has gone from crisis to crisis over the past five weeks, prompting increasing numbers of employees to explore the idea of leaving a start-up that was once considered one of Silicon Valley’s most prestigious and lucrative workplaces.

ADVERTISEMENT

“I have seen quite a few people who have been looking to leave Uber,” said one recruiter, who previously worked at the car-hailing company. “One of the main reasons is lack of faith in senior leadership.”

He said the number of unsolicited résumés from Uber employees coming across his desk spiked last week, a time when two former employees published personal accounts alleging harassment and sexism at the company. He received more résumés from Uber in one week than he had the previous month.

For employees at Uber, quitting the company often means walking away from restricted stock units or stock options worth hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars in Silicon Valley’s most highly valued private company. With Uber currently worth around $70bn, a typical middle manager position comes with RSUs worth hundreds of thousands of dollars that vest over a four-year period.

“Historically, it has been incredibly difficult to recruit from Uber, which partly has to do with people being unwilling to leave their stock options on the table,” says Guillaume Champagne, president at SCGC Executive Search. “From a purely financial perspective, Uber would need to become an awful place for them to leave.”

Nevertheless, in the past few weeks, Mr Champagne has seen an increase of around 5-10 per cent in the number of people interested in leaving, particularly those who are “a bit less of a culture fit”, he says. “To be fair, people typically know what they are getting into when they join Uber. They know it is a very male-dominated, high-octane, investment banking type of culture,” he adds.

ADVERTISEMENT

In the past two weeks, a series of public embarrassments, including a video in which chief executive Travis Kalanick berates an Uber driver, have left the company struggling to recover its image. Mr Kalanick issued an unusual apology after the video was published, saying: “I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up.”

Two senior executives quit the company last week, adding to employees’ sense of uncertainty. Ed Baker, who was vice-president of product and oversaw Uber’s rapid expansion over the past three years, resigned on Friday, attributing his departure to an interest in going into public service. Uber did not comment. Amit Singhal, vice-president of engineering, left the company on Monday.

A spokesman for Uber said the company had not seen attrition rates above normal.

Adding to Uber’s woes, the company was sued last week by Alphabet’s self-driving car unit, Waymo, which alleges that its rival stole trade secrets and infringed on patents relating to autonomous vehicles. Uber called the allegations “a baseless attempt to slow down a competitor” and said it would defend itself in court.

However the lawsuit, and the extreme shortage of technical talent in the autonomous vehicle sector, has made the self-driving research unit particularly susceptible to poaching.

“There are definitely more people thinking about leaving,” says Alex Rodrigues, who co-founded Embark, a rival driverless trucking start-up, last year. Several employees in Uber’s advanced technology group, which is based in Pittsburgh, have left to join rivals in the past month.

More than anything, Uber’s recent stumbles have taken the shine off a company that many in Silicon Valley once saw as being invincible, and employees who had planned to stay with Uber through its eventual initial public offering are reconsidering.

While a public offering typically offers an attractive financial prize to employees with equity, Mr Kalanick has said publicly that he wants to delay an IPO as long as possible, meaning that employees’ shares will remain illiquid.

“People were lured in with the promise of equity . . . but now they are realising that they won’t see a return on that for a long time,” says the recruiter who previously worked at Uber. “There is a lot of resistance in upper management to doing an IPO.”

Others say that doubt is starting to sink in. “Previously it was difficult to get them [Uber employees] because of their stock. Now they don’t seem so confident about what that’s worth,” says an executive at one of the largest tech companies in the Valley.

Via FT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT
Just in:
Sunshine’s Debut Features Leave Tech World Scratching Its Head // Renewables Surge Sets Record, But Global Equity Lags // Konica Minolta is named ASEAN 2023 Market Leader in Colour Light and Mid Digital Production Printers // Meta Earth Official Website Launch: The Pioneer Explorer in the Modular Public Blockchain Domain // TUMI Hosts Global Launch Event in Singapore to Unveil Women’s Asra Collection and Announce Global Ambassador, Mun Ka Young // German Job Market Resilience Bodes Well for Economic Recovery // U.S. Compliance Takes Center Stage at OKX Following Industry Jitters // Ajman Celebrates Conclusion of Ramadan Activities with Grand Ceremony // Infineon and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering jointly develop ship electrification technology // Sharjah Chamber Breaks Ground on Final Expansion with New HQ Pact // Experience Ultimate Shopping Freedom at 4.4 Shopee Spree: Don’t Worry, Shop Shopee! // AIA Hong Kong Wins More Than 20 Accolades at MPF Ratings MPF Awards, BENCHMARK MPF of The Year Awards and Bloomberg Businessweek Top Fund Awards // Lisboeta Macau’s world first LINE FRIENDS PRESENTS CASA DE AMIGO and BROWN & FRIENDS CAFE & BISTRO has officially opened // First-Ever Fortune Innovation Forum Draws Top Global Leaders to Hong Kong, Promoting Agendas On Collective Cross-Sector Advancement // Samsung Partners National Heritage Board to Bring a Slice of Singapore’s Cultural Heritage to Samsung The Frame TV // No running of govt from jail, says Delhi Lt Governor // Global Audience to Witness Thrill of Dubai World Cup // Hope for Respite as UAE Endorses UN Plea for Gaza Truce // 2024 Lok Sabha Elections Will Be The Costliest One Till Now In The Whole World // Universal Language for Healthcare: General Authority Embraces Global Coding System //