Uber pledges to become a ‘more humble company’
The startup’s CEO, Travis Kalanick, acknowledged previous mistakes and said internal change was needed. The announcement followed the brand’s partnership with Goldman Sachs to secure more funding.
Users may love the company, but it has done nothing to help itself in the PR department. For example, it tried to sabotage funding for its main competitor, Lyft. Uber was also accused of ordering and canceling thousands of Lyft rides.
In October, the company canceled an ill-conceived promotion that promised free rides from “hot chicks.” There’s also the time that Uber’s PR team tried to dupe LA Weekly into publishing a first-person editorial from a driver under the guise that it wasn’t actually written by the PR team—which, of course, it was.
Most recently, senior vice president Emil Michael was quoted suggesting that the company should set up a $1 million fund to hire “opposition researchers” to go after journalists who write negative stories about the company.
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