Uber Inc. has been in a bit of a turmoil in the recent past due to a range of issues and one of the most damaging ones has been the accusations of rampant Sexual Harassment at the workplace. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick had promised a complete probe into the problem when the accusations surfaced and today, the company fired in excess of 20 employees following the completion of the probe.
Probe begins the cleanup
When the allegations first surfaced, the whistleblowers had alleged that the Human Resource department at the company had been extremely lax about the sexual harassment complaints.
However, Uber had promised a thorough investigation into the whole mess and according to several reports, the company has fired in excess of 20 employees who have been found guilty of sexual harassment at the workplace.
Among those, who have been found guilty, two belong to the senior management and that is something that would certainly come as big shock for not only the company but also the various shareholders. The latest cull is only the beginning by the looks of things. There are 57 other complaints are still under investigation and there could be even more terminations in the days to come. This is probably the beginning of a much needed clean up of the organization that was on the verge of turning toxic, in spite of the unprecedented success it has enjoyed as a business in recent years.
A thorough probe
Anyone who might have thought that the company would only order a perfunctory probe into the allegations has been proven wrong. Uber hired the services of the law firm Perkins Coie, who went through as many as 215 sexual harassment complaints that had been filed with the human resources at the company. Perkins Coie shared the results of the investigation with the committee formed by some members of the board at Uber and it is believed that after going through the findings, the termination letters were handed to the guilty parties.
According to a report on Bloomberg, the company is going to make a formal announcement at some point next week in order to share the findings and the actions that have been taken. The law firm has not only investigated the problem but has also suggested a range of steps that should be taken by the company in order to make Uber a safer workplace for women in the future. It is expected that the company is going to implement those changes as and when the investigation is completed.
