Uber employees sign petition to reinstate ex-CEO Travis Kalanick

More than one thousand Uber employees have signed a petition calling for the reinstatement of former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, according to a report by Axios.

Kalanick was forced to resign on Wednesday after pressure from shareholders, and has not yet been replaced. The founder had tackled many a controversy in the past year, but it was a personal family tragedy that eventually led to his resignation.

According to an email obtained by Recode, employees understand that he is a flawed leader, but believe he should be reinstated anyway.

“Nobody is perfect, but I fundamentally believe he can evolve into the leader Uber needs today and that he’s critical to its future success,” it reads.

Linked in the email was an anonymous petition for any employees to express their support for Kalanick’s return to the company. Within 12 hours, nearly 10% of Uber employees had signed. Drivers are not counted as employees.

‘Nobody is perfect, but I fundamentally believe he can evolve into the leader Uber needs today and that he’s critical to its future success’

Another email was then sent to Uber’s board of directors, expressing similar sentiment in a more formal manner. The email stated that the support was unexpected but proved employees’ will to see their leader back at work.

“As the folks who’ve actually worked alongside Travis for years to help create Uber from nothing, we are extremely disappointed by the short-sightedness and pure self-interest demonstrated by those who are supposed to protect the long-term interests of our company,” it reads.

“Yes, Travis is flawed, as we all are. But his passion, vision, and dedication to Uber are simply unmatched. We would not be here today without him, and believe he can evolve into the leader we need.”

In a statement to Axios, Mood Rowghani, a partner with an Uber investor, agreed with the employees.

“It is a founder’s passion, strategic clairvoyance, ability to inspire and motivate employees and relentless pursuit of the mission that enables start-ups to achieve seismic changes against the odds,” he said.

“Founders may not always play the role of CEO but several great companies — most notably Apple and Twitter — that severed all ties to their founders eventually came to regret it.”

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