UBER'S NEW SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF ENGINEERING HAS RESIGNED
FROM THE COMPANY.
HE WAS FORCED TO RESIGN FROM THE COMPANY AFTER NEW INFO EMERGED
REGARDING HIS FORMER EMPLOYER, AND HOW THERE WERE SOME CREDIBLE
ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT AGAINST HIM, WHICH FORCED HIM TO
RESIGN FROM GOOGLE AND THEN GO SEEK OTHER WORK.
AMIT SINGHAL IS THE NAME OF THIS FORMER VP FOR UBER.
HE WAS HIRED JUST FIVE WEEKS AGO, BUT HE FAILED TO
DISCLOSE THAT HE LEFT HIS PREVIOUS JOB AT GOOGLE
BECAUSE OF A SEXUAL-HARASSMENT ALLEGATION.
NOW, FOR HIS PART, HE COMPLETELY DENIES THAT HE SEXUALLY
HARASSED THIS WOMAN; HOWEVER, THERE WAS AN INTERNAL
INVESTIGATION DONE AT GOOGLE, AND THEY FOUND THAT THE
ALLEGATIONS MADE AGAINST HIM WERE CREDIBLE.
SO THEY WERE GOING TO FIRE HIM, BUT HE DECIDED TO RESIGN
BEFORE THEY COULD DO SO.
WHEN HE GOT HIRED AT UBER, HE DID NOT DISCLOSE WHY HE DECIDED
TO LEAVE THE COMPANY, AND SINCE UBER IS CURRENTLY DEALING WITH
SOME VERY SERIOUS SEXUAL HARASSMENT ALLEGATIONS FROM A
FOREIGN ñ FROM A FORMER ENGINEER, THEY CHECKED ñ
THEY ARE TAKING THESE ALLEGATIONS SERIOUSLY AND HAVE
DECIDED TO LET HIM GO.
WHAT'S SPECIFICALLY INTERESTING TO ME IN THIS STORY, ON TOP OF
WHAT'S GOING ON, BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO ME THAT UBER WAS
JUST LIKE, OH YOU SEXUALLY HARASS SOMEONE?
COME RIGHT ON BOARD!
YOU'LL FIT IN WELL WITH THIS CULTURE WE'VE
CREATED HERE AT UBER.
THIS IS REALLY INTERESTING, BECAUSE CURRENTLY THERE IS THIS
RACE ñ THIS RUSH TO TRY TO BE THE FIRST COMPANY THAT
REALLY FIGURES OUT SELF DRIVING CARS.
NOW, UBER AND GOOGLE ARE SOMEWHAT COLLABORATING, BUT ALSO
COMPETING IN THIS RACE, AND ONE OF THE LAWSUITS THAT UBER IS
FACING IS FROM A COMPANY CALLED WAYMO, IT'S A SELF DRIVING CAR
COMPANY UNDER GOOGLE'S ALPHABET, THERE UMBRELLA CORPORATION, AND
THEY ARE SAYING THAT THE NEXT ENGINEER ACTUALLY STOLE
INFORMATION AND BROUGHT IT ONTO UBER.
SO THAT, TO ME, BRINGS ANOTHER ADDITIONAL LAYER OF
CORPORATE ESPIONAGE IN THIS ALREADY RIDICULOUS STORY.
AND SPEAKING OF CORPORATE ESPIONAGE, TO ME THE ISSUE
HERE IS TRANSPARENCY.
SO IF SINGHALL SAYS THAT HE IS INNOCENT OF THESE
ALLEGATIONS, HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN TRANSPARENT WHEN HE MOVED
TO THE NEW COMPANY ABOUT WHY HE WAS LEAVING THE OLD COMPANY.
AND YOU MOVED TO A NEW COMPANY, DON'T YOU WANT TO BE AN
OPEN BOOK?
ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S A MAJOR POSITION.
I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
IF HE SAYS HE'S INNOCENT, JUST LAY IT ALL OUT ON THE TABLE
SO THIS DOESN'T COME OUT LATER AND THAT IT SEEMS LIKE YOU
ARE HIDING SOMETHING, THEN IT'S LIKE, YOU LOOK PRETTY
GUILTY RIGHT NOW.
I'M GOING TO KEEP IT REAL, I THINK 98% OF PEOPLE ñ NO,
100% OF PEOPLE, WOULD TRY TO HIDE THAT INFORMATION AS
MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
EVEN IF THEY KNEW THEY DIDN'T TO ANYTHING WRONG, OR EVEN IF THEY
DENY ANY WRONGDOING, BECAUSE ñ I THINK MOST PEOPLE WOULD TRY
TO HIDE IT, BECAUSE SIMPLY STATING DURING A JOB INTERVIEW
THAT YOU WERE ACCUSED, BUT YOU DENY IT, YOU LOSE ANY ADVANTAGE.
ESPECIALLY IF IT'S THE REASON WHY YOU LEFT.
HE SAYS IT'S NOT THE REASON HE LEFT.
I DON'T BUY THAT UBER DIDN'T KNOW THIS.
YOUR SPECULATING.
I'M SPECULATING, BUT THERE IS ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO POINT TO
THE FACT THAT THIS INDIVIDUAL HAD ENOUGH INFORMATION
ABOUT THE SELF DRIVING TECHNOLOGY, THAT THEY COULD
UTILIZE AND QUICKLY GET RID OF.
COMING BACK TO TRANSPARENCY, IT'S EASIER TO SPECULATE
BECAUSE THIS WAS AN INTERNAL INVESTIGATION.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FINDINGS WERE, ONLY THAT THEY WERE
FOUND TO BE QUOTE UNQUOTE CREDIBLE.
CREDIBLE IS A GREAT WORD, THAT'S AWESOME, WHAT THE FUCK DOES
IT MEAN THOUGH, WITH REGARDS TO THE SITUATION?
HOW SERIOUS WERE THE ALLEGATIONS?
HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW?
BUT IT IS COMING OUT AFTER THE FACT.
I HEAR WHAT YOU ARE SAYING AS WELL, IF YOU WERE TO GO
INTO A JOB INTERVIEW AND SAY, REAL QUICK, JUST TO LET YOU
KNOW THERE WERE SOME CREDIBLE ALLEGATIONS THAT CAME UP
AGAINST ME FOR SEXUAL-HARASSMENT.
ANY OTHER DETAILS?
NOPE, BUT THEY ARE CREDIBLE AND I DIDN'T DO IT AND I'M INNOCENT.
IT'S A HUGE MESS THAT UBER HAS ON THEIR HANDS RIGHT NOW,
AND IT COMES BACK TO THIS VEIL OF SECRECY WE SEE
SURROUNDING SO MANY CORPORATIONS, AND IT'S
FRUSTRATING BECAUSE AS CONSUMERS WE JUST DON'T KNOW WHO TO TRUST.
THERE'S ALSO A LOT OF PROPRIETARY INFORMATION THAT
SURROUNDS THIS STUFF, SO I UNDERSTAND THERE ñ WHY THERE HAS
TO BE CERTAIN AMOUNTS OF CORPORATE SECRECY, BUT
SEXUAL-HARASSMENT OR ANY SORT OF THINGS THAT COULD BE
BROUGHT UP ON CRIMINAL CHARGES SHOULD NOT BE INVOLVED IN
THAT, AND THEY SHOULD BE 100% TRANSPARENT WITH IT.