Uber CEO Travis Kalanick asked his company’s senior vice president to resign after learning he faced sexual harassment allegations at Google, his prior place of employment.
Leadership at Uber did not originally know about the accusations of unknown transgressions directed at Amit Singhal, but Recode notified the ride-sharing company this week, according to the media outlet.
Singhal denied there was an “alleged encounter” between him and a female employee, after discussing it with both Google’s head of human resources and CEO, according to reports obtained by Recode.
“Harassment is unacceptable in any setting. I certainly want everyone to know that I do not condone and have not committed such behavior,” Singhal wrote in an email to Recode co-founder Kara Swisher. “In my 20-year career, I’ve never been accused of anything like this before and the decision to leave Google was my own.”
Singhal and his former employers at Google reportedly got in an undisclosed dispute that led to his resignation after 15 years at the tech conglomerate. Google was apparently ready to fire Singhal over the allegations if he did not resign.
Kalanick likely felt the need to purge Singhal as soon as he heard of Recode’s report because of the apparent internal turmoil occurring at the company, specifically sexual harassment accusations levied against managers and rampant sexism in general. (RELATED: Is This Anonymous App Helping Fuel An Insurrection At Uber?)
Susan J. Fowler, a former female engineer at Uber, wrote a highly disturbing account of her time at the company earlier in the month, sparking debates both internally and externally, while apparently snowballing into further allegations.
Over a hundred female employees reportedly met with Kalanick earlier in February to tell him sexism at the company was “systemic” and not unique to Fowler.
More than 30 current and former employees took their testimonies, which included surreptitiously recorded management meetings, to The New York Times. They reportedly attested to incidences involving lewd and dangerous escapades, like booze-filled ragers, bosom-grabbing, consumption of illicit drugs, and a joy ride in a temporarily hijacked shuttle bus.
Singhal’s situation with Google is believed to be unrelated to the recent lawsuit, in which Google’s self-driving car company is suing Uber for allegedly stealing data.
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