Uber founder Travis Kalanick has stepped down as CEO

Why it matters to you

The company will now be intent on steering a steadier course following months of criticism.

Uber founder Travis Kalanick has resigned as CEO of the ride-hailing company.

Kalanick decided to step down on Tuesday night following intense pressure from five major investors, the NY Times reported.

News of the 40-year-old founder’s departure follows mounting criticism over the way the company has been conducting its business, and comes just a few days after the funeral of his mother who died in a boating accident at the end of last month.

It’s believed that Kalanick will stay on as a member of Uber’s board of directors. It’s not clear at this stage who will lead the company.

In a statement seen by the NY Times, Kalanick said: “I love Uber more than anything in the world and at this difficult moment in my personal life I have accepted the investors request to step aside so that Uber can go back to building rather than be distracted with another fight.”

According to reports, Kalanick’s decision followed a revolt among shareholders who told him earlier on Tuesday that new leadership was required for the company to move forward.

Kalanick, who founded Uber in 2009, reportedly received the demand by letter while in Chicago. After several hours of discussions, he finally agreed to leave the top job.

While Uber has always faced plenty of criticism about how it conducts its business, matters appeared to take a turn for the worse earlier this year when a former employee made allegations of a company culture where sexual harassment and gender discrimination was rife.

Keen to clean up its act, the company conducted an investigation into its workplace practices, which culminated in the firing of 20 employees and the release of a report last week that recommended Kalanick play less of a major role in the business.

In response to the report, Uber’s founder began an indefinite leave of absence before finally resigning on Tuesday.

Besides concerns about its workplace culture, the company is also embroiled in a legal battle with Google spin-off Waymo over the alleged theft of autonomous-car tech. It’s also facing a probe by the Department of Justice following accusations that it used secret technology to hide its vehicles from officials in some cities where attempts were being made to cut down on the service.

Uber’s investors will be hoping new leadership will set the company on a steadier course free of controversy, and we’ll update this article as soon as we hear more about how it plans to move forward.