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TECHNOLOGY Saturday 10 June 2017
Uber moves to repair tainted image with 20 firings, 1 hiring

TOM KRISHER love,” Uber CEO Travis Ka-
AP Auto Writer lanick said in a statement.
DETROIT (AP) — Uber, the More action could come
world’s leading ride-hailing next week when a report
company, has taken two on Uber’s culture by for-
big steps toward repairing mer Attorney General Eric
its corporate image: It fired Holder is likely to be made
20 employees for a host of public. He is supposed to
harassment problems and make broader recom-
hired an Apple market- mendations on how to
ing executive to rescue its change Uber’s culture.
tainted brand. During Uber’s ascent to be-
Those fired for sexual ha- coming the world’s most
rassment as well as bully- valuable startup, the San
ing, discrimination and oth- Francisco-based com-
er behavior that violated pany took Silicon Valley’s
company policies included penchant for sexism, for
both managers and lower- cutthroat, unapologetic
level workers. Some had competition and distaste
retaliated against other for government regulation
employees after they com- and kicked it up several
plained about bad con- notches.
duct, said Bobbie Wilson, a For a while, this worked
partner at the Perkins Coie well, pushing Uber’s valua-
law firm, which did the in- tion to nearly $70 billion. But
vestigation. this year, Uber’s aggres-
Separately, Uber an- sive corporate culture and This March 1, 2017, file photo shows an exterior view of the headquarters of Uber in San Francisco.
Associated Press
nounced Tuesday that 40-year-old Kalanick’s self-
it had hired Apple mar- admitted need to “funda-
keting executive Bo- mentally change and grow ments from Waymo before propositioned her in a series other employees placed in
zoma Saint John, who will up” has caught up with it. his startup firm was pur- of messages and superiors counseling, were involved
be Uber’s chief brand of- In addition to the sexu- chased by Uber, accord- ignored her complaints. in that.
ficer. She ran global con- al harassment allega- ing to a Waymo lawsuit. After the posting, Uber set Wilson said Uber gave her
sumer marketing of Apple tions, Uber is the target of Uber also is searching for up a 24-hour hotline to law firm “unfettered ac-
Music and iTunes. Her task lawsuits, boycott threats a chief operating officer take complaints from em- cess” to people and docu-
at Uber will be to improve and a federal investiga- and chief financial officer ployees, and hired Perkins ments that were needed
its brand image so people tion into claims that it has as it prepares for a possible Coie to investigate them. for the Fowler investigation.
like it as well as they like the used a fake version of its public stock offering. The firm checked into 215 Problems at Uber are not
company’s ride services, app to thwart authorities. Uber Technologies Inc. complaints, and 57 remain unusual in the technology
an Uber spokeswoman It’s also been accused of retained Perkins Coie af- under investigation. The industry, given the com-
said. corporate espionage by ter former engineer Susan hotline will remain in opera- pany’s size of more than
“Boz has a long track re- Waymo, formerly Google’s Fowler posted a blog in tion. 14,000 employees, said Wil-
cord of successfully cre- autonomous vehicle February about sex ha- The probe into Fowler’s son, whose firm has done
ating emotional connec- arm. Uber’s former chief rassment at the company. complaints is still underway, similar work for the biggest
tions between people autonomous car research- Fowler wrote that on her and Wilson wouldn’t say tech companies in the
and the products they er took confidential docu- first day at work her boss if any of those fired, or 31 nation.q

Electric vehicle rally sets off in Switzerland

JAMEY KEATEN miles) in eight days. It start- run on electricity during the
Associated Press ed in downtown Zurich with rally and travel at least 250
ZURICH (AP) — Drivers in a ceremony among EV en- kilometers (150 miles) per
scores of electric vehicles, thusiasts and no small num- day. Re-charging stations
some in superhero or other ber of gawking passers-by. dot the route.
quirky get-ups, A total of 112 trucks, cars, Nearly half of the vehicles
embarked Friday on a motorbikes and three- this year are from Switzer-
weeklong trek around Swit- wheeled contraptions land, while more than one-
zerland as part of a grass- somewhere in-between, all quarter come from Germa-
roots movement to fight electric-powered, are rid- ny. Countries including Aus-
global warming. ing in what’s billed as the tria, Italy, France, Romania
The World Advanced Ve- largest electric vehicle rally and Morocco are also rep-
hicle Expedition rally, now of its kind in the world. resented.
in its seventh edition, is the One driver from Morocco Founder Louis Palmer, 44,
brainchild of an environ- wore a cape and super- quit his job as a teacher a
mentally-minded Swiss for- hero outfit, calling himself decade ago and fulfilled
mer teacher who wants to “Super-COP”: an allusion his dream of building a so- Electric vehicles are presented during the start of the Wave Tro-
promote plug-in vehicles to the U.N.-backed Con- lar-powered car — getting phy 2017 tour, on Friday, June 9, 2017, in Zurich, Switzerland.
over carbon-spewing com- ference of Parties process help from researchers and Associated Press
bustion engines. that led to accords like the supporters across Switzer-
The rally takes the teams Paris climate agreement land. world in his “solartaxi” for up attention and interest in
over 1,600 kilometers (995 in 2015. The vehicles must In 2010, Palmer traveled the the adventure and to drum cleaner transportation.q