http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/02/02/uber-ceo-leaves-trumps-economic-advisory-board/97415342/
After facing backlash from consumers and employees, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has decided to step down from President Trump's economic advisor council. Kalanick believes that his participation in the council was misconstrued as an endorsement for Trump's policies. He stepped down on the eve of the first meeting between the council members, which included Tesla CEO Elon Musk, chairman and chief executive of Blackstone Stephen Shwarzman, and other top executives from Wal-Mart, Pepsi, and Disney. Kalanick became concerned over numerous boycotts of Uber, which seemed to have taken a hit on the company. Hours after Trump announced the travel ban, protests by taxi drivers took place at JFK airport, leading Uber to announce a drop in surge pricing at the airport, creating even more trouble for the company. People were under the impression that Uber did this in order to undercut the protesting taxi drivers. The hashtag #deleteuber was created as a result and gained popularity all over social media.
This article illustrates the difficult path ahead for technology companies/executives that decide to work with President Trump. Kalanick tried to inform the public and employees of the company that he was working with the President in order to improve transportation around the globe. It is a shame that Kalanick's agenda was misconstrued, as it is people like him who can really make a difference in the world. It will be interesting to see what other backlash companies and executives who decide to work under Trump will face.
7 comments:
The results from Uber's involvement not only show the hatred for Trump but also shows the consumer driven influence on Uber. Disney, Pepsi and Wal-Mart all offer a product, while Uber offers a service. Disney, Pepsi and Wal-Mart have been around for years. They have a consumer base that loves their product. Uber's service has competition in Lift and in local taxi drivers, consumers are perfectly capable to take a yellow NYC taxi over an Uber ride any day. And since Uber's customers are primarily from the younger generation who is constantly linked into social media and the news they can act quickly and create wide support.
I agree with Elise, the younger generation has a lot of influence on businesses such as Uber and other service base companies. The younger generation is always connected to social media and as soon as they heard that the CEO of Uber was supporting Donald Trump, they created the hashtag #deleteuber. This had a huge impact on the company and it will be quite hard for them to recuperate from this. They might be able to lower their prices and gain some of their customers back but they will not have the same profits as before.
I imagine this will not hurt Uber's business much, if at all, after some time passes. I think Elise raises an interesting point about Uber providing a service while there other companies have more tangible products. It is too bad a company like Uber can't be on Trump's economic advisory council because it may help represent the voice of younger people and may be more liberal. However, maybe Uber's intentions aren't pure so it could be damaging to consumers.
I agree that Uber providing a service rather than a product allowed for the boycott to happen more easily. I also think that Uber offers a services that is not necessarily needed and easy to live without. Uber is not essential to many of its users lives. They can take a taxi, a different ride service, public transportation, drive their own car, or get a ride from a friend. However, companies like Walmart offer products that most people find essential for their daily lives. While Disney and Coke offer nonessential products, the companies are ingrained in American culture much more than Uber is. I think all of these things make people less willing to boycott companies like Walmart, Disney, and Coca-Cola even if they disagree with the companies' participation in Trump's economic advisory council.
Something Lyft did was release a statement to all users and those who work for the company that they stand behind all those affected by the travel ban which is great PR for the company. If Uber followed suit it probably would have lowered the heat they eventually received following the news that the CEO has left the Trump Economic Team. The power of the media should not be underestimated and Mr. Kalanick should have addressed this issue before taking the position on the economic team to make it clear his intentions was to continue to use his service to improve transportation both domestically and globally.
That is a good point made by Q. The media should not be underestimated as this is a good example of what can happen. It is a shame that Mr. Kalanick cannot be on the advisory council as he is a smart businessman, something our economy could use. He should have released a statement on his behalf before joining the council to clear up any confusing, but it is important that we think about the future of our economy. Maybe we shouldn't act negatively towards people working for Trump as balance is important if we want our economy to grow.
This news is very disappointing. The CEO of Uber would have been a great, and probably liberal, addition to the Trump administration. It seems like he agreed to the position because he felt he could help our nation. Yes, the caveat is that he would have to be associated with the Trump presidency but he should not have been shamed out of the position. In normal times, this would have been an honor. It just saddens me that our political climate is essentially barring qualified candidates from participating because of the hatred felt for the sitting president.
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