SAN FRANCISCO _ Travis Kalanick, Uber's co-founder and chief executive, will take an indefinite leave from the company following a months-long investigation into allegations of pervasive harassment inside the ride-hailing firm.
In an email sent to staff Tuesday morning, Kalanick acknowledged that he had to take responsibility for the turmoil at Uber and said he was taking leave to grieve for his mother, who died in a boating accident last month.
"Recent events have brought home for me that people are more important than work, and that I need to take some time off of the day-to-day to grieve my mother, whom I buried on Friday, to reflect, to work on myself, and to focus on building out a world-class leadership team," he said in an email that was sent to Uber's employees.
His leave of absence coincides with the release of recommendations from former Attorney General Eric Holder's investigation into the company's workplace culture.
Uber hired Holder and his law firm Covington & Burling in February to conduct an independent investigation into the company's culture after a former Uber employee alleged in a blog post that she'd experienced sexual harassment in the workplace and that Uber managers tried to cover up.
