Uber has been under fire following a former employee's claims of sexual harassment in the workplace. Now, the company is in the spotlight once again as a video of its chief executive has emerged, which shows him getting into a heated argument with an Uber driver about falling pay rates.
Other Uber drivers are talking about the incident, with some saying that Travis Kalanick's behavior seemed to condone the mistreatment of drivers.
In the video (via Yahoo! Finance), Kalanick is seen traveling with two women and was about to reach his destination in San Francisco when his Uber driver, Fawzi Kamel, asked why the company has lowered the prices customers pay for every mile they travel.
"I lost $97,000 because of you," Kamel said, while looking over his shoulder and pointing at Kalanick. "I'm bankrupt because of you."
After responding with a few expletives, the CEO retaliated, saying that some people would rather blame others than take responsibility for their own failures.
"You know what? Some people don't like to take responsibility for their own [expletive]," said Kalanick. "They blame everything in their life on someone else."
NDTV reports that Uber driver Mike Twist was "incensed" with the way Kalanick cursed Kamel, and that it has hit him personally.
"It's a trickle down way of treating people, and it really hit me personally and made me see that starts at the top," said Twist. "I've always felt if you treat an employee or partner with respect, they're going to go the extra mile generally.
While Twist pointed out that the driver was also at fault due to his unprofessional behavior, he thinks that Kalanick should have responded differently because as the CEO and founder of Uber, he "is never really off duty."
On Tuesday night, the Uber CEO sent his employees an email to address his behavior in the video.
"To say I am ashamed is an extreme understatement," said Kalanick. "It's clear this video is a reflection of me-and the criticism we've received is a stark reminder that I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up. This is the first time I've been willing to admit that I need leadership help and I intend to get it."
Uber has been experiencing backlash since January after the company dropped surge pricing at J.F.K. Airport during a taxi worker's strike. This was followed by former Uber engineer Susan Fowler's allegations of sexual harassment last month as previously reported by Jobs & Hire.
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