Uber’s rough ride continues; President Jeff Jones quits abruptly

Uber’s recently hired high level recruit Jeff Jones has quit the firm just after 7 months with the San Francisco based ride sharing startup. Jeff was a marking expert hired by the firm to soften its abrasive image, however this partnership didn’t seem to go the distance. He joined Uber from Target Corp, where he was chief marketing officer and is credited with modernizing the retailer’s brand. Although the reason behind his departure isn’t explicitly told by the firm, but his role in the firm was put into question after Uber launched a search for a chief operating officer, responsibilities of whom had been shared with Jeff from some time now, to help run the company alongside Chief Executive Travis Kalanick.

The firm has been battling multiple high level exits from some time now. Besides Jeff, Ed Baker, Uber’s vice president of product and growth, and Charlie Miller, Uber’s famed security researcher also left the firm. Also, Amit Singhal, Engineering Executive in the startup, was asked to leave due to a sexual harassment allegation stemming from his previous job at Google.

Uber has been the target of criticism from some time now. Recently, a former Uber employee published a blog post describing a workplace where sexual harassment was common and went unpunished. It prompted an internal investigation in the firm. Then, its CEO Travis Kalanick was seen arguing with a driver over complaints regarding cuts to rates paid to the drivers.