Uber’s board of directors will be considering a leave of absence for the company’s controversial CEO Travis Kalanick in a meeting on Sunday, according to a New York Times report. It’ll also be weighing the impact of former attorney general Eric Holder’s investigation into the company’s practices and his recommendations about what steps to take next.
Kalanick, 40, has stumbled through one scandal and controversy after another in recent years, from his profane chewing-out of one of his own drivers to his reported suggestion that Uber should dig up personal dirt on critical journalists to the revelation that the company used secret technology to evade law enforcement in cities where it wasn’t welcome.
He’s also recently experienced personal tragedy, as his mother Bonnie was slain in a boating accident last month.
Things have not been smooth for the ride-hailing app lately. Just last week, more than 20 employees were fired following a sexual harassment investigation, and it’s now being reported that CBO Emil Michael will resign. The Wall Street Journal characterizes Michael as one of Kalanick’s close confidants within Uber, and he would be the highest-ranking executive to part ways with the company.
Kalanick ascended to the CEO position in 2010 and has been at the helm of the flourishing (yet often controversial) company ever since.