Uber president Jeff Jones quits unexpectedly after just six months
Uber president Jeff Jones has extended a run of departures at the troubled ride hailing app after throwing in the towel just six months into his tenure.
It is unclear exactly why Jones chose this juncture to quit with reports from the BBC suggesting that he was left exasperated after being looked over for the role of chief operating officer after learning he was not amongst the candidates - although Recode believes that he was propelled out the exit door by an ongoing sexism storm.
This would have effectively demoted Jones who has chosen to quit with immediate effect instead, without giving his superiors any advance notice of the decision, serving as yet another blow for a company still reeling from allegations of sexual harassment and a mea culpa from chief executive Travis Kalanick who admitted he needed leadership help after being filmed berating one of his drivers.
In an email to staff Kalanick said: “After we announced our intention to hire a COO, Jeff came to the tough decision that he doesn't see his future at Uber.
"It is unfortunate that this was announced through the press, but I thought it was important to send all of you an email before providing comment publicly."
Rumours are swirling that Kalanick himself might stand down when the new COO is in post in an effort to steady the ship following a torrid few weeks.
Last week Uber was hit by the departure of senior vice president Amit Singhal within just one month for failing to disclose an allegation of sexual harrassment from his time at Google.