Uber admits to past mistakes; says it is a different company now

As a leaked cache of confidential files illustrated its potentially dubious and illegal means to push into markets around the world, Uber said it will not make excuses for the past but wanted to be judged by its actions in the last five years.

Uber Files, a joint media investigation recently revealed that the ride-sharing company used “stealth technology” to escape the radar of government investigations.

Reacting to the news, the company has issued a statement in which it has admitted to past “mistakes,” while adding that it has been a different company under CEO Dara Khosrowshahi since 2017.

“We have not and will not make excuses for past behaviour that is clearly not in line with our present values. Instead, we ask the public to judge us by what we’ve done over the last five years and what we will do in the years to come,” the statement said.

While the investigation did not detail specific transgression in India – a market Uber has been in since August 2013 – the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists reported how Uber sought to skirt taxi regulations globally and leaned on subsidised drivers and discounted fares that undercut the taxi industry.

It based the investigation on a cache of documents, including unvarnished text and email exchanges between executives, with standouts from co-founder and former chief executive Travis Kalanick, who was forced to resign in 2017 following accusations of brutal management practices.

“There has been no shortage of reporting on Uber’s mistakes prior to 2017. Thousands of stories have been published, multiple books have been written – there’s even been a TV series,” the statement said.

Those “mistakes” five years ago culminated in the termination of several senior executives.
“It’s also exactly why Uber hired a new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, who was tasked with transforming every aspect of how Uber operates,” it said.

“Dara rewrote the company’s values, revamped the leadership team, made safety a top company priority, implemented best-in-class corporate governance, hired an independent board chair, and installed the rigorous controls and compliance necessary to operate as a public company,” the statement said.

Uber, it said, “is a different company today.”

It literally is a different company as “90 percent of current Uber employees joined after Dara became CEO.”

Uber has “moved from an era of confrontation to one of collaboration, demonstrating a willingness to come to the table and find common ground with former opponents, including labour unions and taxi companies,” the statement said.

“We are now regulated in more than 10,000 cities around the world, working at all levels of government to improve the lives of those using our platform and the cities we serve,” the firm said.

“Among other things, we have invested heavily in safety, developing many of the technologies that are now industry standard and publishing a comprehensive report of the most serious safety incidents,” it added.

(With inputs from agencies)