Uber In Trouble: Company Lost A Lot Of Money Last Year

Uber seems to be having money problems. The company had a rough year, everybody knew that. Just how rough, the company’s recent financial disclosures show. Uber reportedly lost $2.8 billion in 2016, CNNTech reports.

Ironically, the company reportedly released its financials to Bloomberg in order to demonstrate its business growth. The company’s net bookings hit $20 billion in 2016, which after deducting the drivers’ cut, made the company a revenue of $6.5 billion. But in showcasing one big achievement, the company had to disclose a darker secret too. The company also lost $2.8 billion in 2016, this without including the sale of its China rights. Uber CEO, Travis Kalanick had previously remarked that the company had been losing over $1 billion a year in China. The company sold its China rights to its top competition there, Didi Chuxing, in August 2016.

$2.8 billion is a huge loss for any company. Following its sale in China, the company, however, managed to keep its losses at constant while increasing its sales in the latter quarters of the year. The company has been going through a number of corporate crises in the past year. There have been allegations of sexism and harassment, and one recent crisis involves a viral video of CEO Travis Kalanick verbally abusing an Uber driver. Uber, a private company, isn’t required to disclose its financials by any means. But this recent move can be interpreted as its attempt to keep the confidence of its investors, employees, and its user-base in check, amid the series of serious crises. In light of its financial disclosures, Uber’s regional manager for the United States and Canada, Rachel Holt, made a statement on behalf of the company to CNNTech.

“We’re fortunate to have a healthy and growing business, giving us the room to make the changes we know are needed on management and accountability, our culture and organization, and our relationship with drivers.”

One of the biggest crises the company has had to go through recently has been the public allegations of the sexism and harassment at Uber. A former engineer working for the company had written in her blog post summarizing her experience at the company that Uber had practically ignored the complaints of sexual harassment against a superior. In an attempt to save face, CEO Travis Kalanick stepped up, claiming that he knew nothing of the complaints prior to the blog post and that what happened was “abhorrent and against everything Uber stands for and believes in.”

Kalanick also claimed that he had instructed his chief HR officer to conduct an urgent investigation into the matter. In an official statement regarding the matter, the CEO said the following.

“We seek to make Uber a just workplace and there can be absolutely no place for this kind of behavior at Uber — and anyone who behaves this way or thinks this is OK will be fired.”

Not long after the serious crisis involving sexual mistreatment, Uber has had to face yet another PR crisis. A video showing Uber CEO verbally abusing a driver recently went viral. The video shows an Uber driver, identified as Fawzi Kamal, telling Kalanick that due to his lowering of the rates for the drivers, he had gone bankrupt.

To this, Kalanick replies with the following statement.

“Some people don’t like to take responsibility for their own s**t. They blame everything in their life on somebody else.”

The Uber CEO has since apologized for his behavior. In a statement released following the incident, Kalanick admits that his treatment of the driver was “disrespectful.”

“I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up.”

Following the string of crises, Uber are said to be looking for a COO. In a statement Kalanick admitted to this.

“This morning I told the Uber team that we’re actively looking for a Chief Operating Officer: a peer who can partner with me to write the next chapter in our journey.”

[Featured Image by Carl Court/Getty Images]