Uber HR exec steps down after claims she made racist comments about Black employees surface
An Uber executive stepped down after a Reuters investigation that Chief People Officer Liane Hornsey dismissed claims of racial discrimination, without even examining them, Reuters reports.
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Reuters claimed that several anonymous whistleblowers at the ride-sharing service, revealed that Hornsey dismissed internal complaints of widespread racial bias.
Reuters contacted Uber last week about the lack of investigation into her discriminatory accusations and on last Tuesday, Hornsey resigned in an email. She had served in the role for 18 months
She reportedly wrote in an email about her abrupt exit, “comes a little out of the blue for some of you, but I have been thinking about this for a while.”
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Rebranding their image
As the company works to right itself and get back into the good graces of their employees, Spike Lee has teamed up with the ride-sharing service for “Uber Presents Da Republic of Brooklyn,” a series of five short films highlighting the men and women who drive for the service in Brooklyn, Indiewire.com reports.
“I was attracted to this project because I know a lot of people who drive on the Uber platform and it gives them the flexibility they need to pursue their dreams,” Lee said in a statement published on Indiewire.com. “That’s how we do it in Brooklyn—that’s the Brooklyn hustle.”
The films are available for viewing online here. They are “Malka,” “Sunny,” “Domingo,” “Keith” and “Rodney.”
The Uber Presents homepage opens with an introduction to the series: “In Brooklyn, hustle is the only thing that moves faster than change. Da Republic of Brooklyn is a Spike Lee Joint following the journey of 5 Uber driver-partners as they chase down their dreams in New York’s biggest borough.”
