Ride-hailing Uber was not above exploiting violence against its drivers to “guarantee success,” reveal the 124,000 documents leaked to The Guardian and then shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
The series of emails, iMessages and WhatsApp exchanges, memos, presentations, notebooks, briefing papers and invoices reveal how the ride-hailing app was allegedly duping authorities, skirting around law and regulations, and intensely lobbying in an effort to expand rapidly across the world.
From its inception in 2009, the company has faced pushback from those in the taxi industry over the disruption that it had been bringing. Several cities and nations have seen protests against the company, including a nationwide strike in France in 2016 which was met with strong police action. Similar protests from tax drivers and unions were seen across Belgium, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands around the same time.
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The documents reveal that former CEO Travis Kalanick urged executives to focus on growth even if “fires start to burn ... Know this is a normal part of Uber’s business."
Amid the protests in France, Kalanick reportedly asked French Uber executives to encourage their drivers to stage a mass counter-protest through civil disobedience. With the protests turning violent due to “extreme right thugs” who were “spoiling for a fight”, by infiltrating the protests there was a risk of physical violence toward Uber drivers, the French executives warned Kalanick.
“I think it’s worth it. Violence guarantee (sic) success. And these guys must be resisted, no? Agreed that (sic) right place and time must be thought out,” Kalanick reportedly shot back.
Uber repeated the same strategy when facing protests in other European countries like Italy, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands. When reports of violence against Uber drivers at the hands of angry masked men emerged in the Netherlands, executives from the company used the opportunity to gather more concessions for Uber.
“We keep the violence narrative going for a few days before we offer the solution,” one manager purportedly wrote.
Kalanick’s spokesperson has however questioned the authenticity of some of the documents and stated that Kalanick “never suggested that Uber should take advantage of violence at the expense of driver safety”.
CNBC-TV18 has reached out to Uber for comment specifically on this issue. A response is awaited at the time of this writing.
Also read: Uber Files | Ride-hailing company courted high-ranking government officials, politicians: Report
