I guess it’s to be expected when your company is accused of widespread sexual harassment, is run by an arrogant jerkwad, and could be entirely derailed thanks to the alleged theft of self-driving car designs—but damn, Uber is losing a flurry of people. The latest is Jeff Jones, the ride-hailing giant’s president who, last month, conducted a disaster of a question-and-answer session with drivers.
In a statement, Jones, who joined Uber just six months ago, was unequivocal about why’s he’s leaving the company.
“It is now clear, however, that the beliefs and approach to leadership that have guided my career are inconsistent with what I saw and experienced at Uber, and I can no longer continue as president of the ride sharing business,” he said in a statement to Recode, which first reported his departure. Ouch.
Recode suggested, citing anonymous sources, that Uber CEO Travis Kalanick’s announcement that he was seeking “leadership help” and intended to hire a new Chief Operating Officer also played a role in Jones’ decision to leave. Kalanick said as much in an email to Uber staff.
The decision by Jones comes amid a period of tumult for Uber; the former Target exec’s departure is only the latest in a series of notable resignations at the company. Here’s a list of others who’ve left in recent weeks:
- Brian McClendon, VP of maps and business platform, announced that he also was leaving the company March 28 to return to his home state of Kansas for a possible political career, according to the New York Times.
- Raffi Krikorian, senior director at Uber’s Advanced Technologies Center based in Pittsburgh, said last week he was stepping down. Krikorian was considered one of Uber’s top self-driving engineers, according to Recode.
- Gary Marcus joined Uber in December to the run the company’s AI Labs, and is reportedly now a “special adviser” to the division.
- Amit Singhal, senior VP of engineering at Uber, was asked to resign last month after it was revealed that he failed to disclose that he left a previous job at Google under precarious circumstances. Recode reported that Google conducted an internal investigation into a sexual harassment claim filed against Singhal and found it to be “credible.” Singhal denied the allegations.
- Ed Baker, VP of product and growth, announced earlier this month that he was leaving the company after three years.
We reached out to Uber for comment, and will update if we hear back.
If you know anything about imminent departures from Uber, you can reach me at ryan.felton@jalopnik.com or through Signal.