drugs – Uber Scandals

November 8, 2024November 8, 2024

Thailand manager assaulted employee and pushed her face into drugs

Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 240) describes a toxic workplace at Uber in Thailand, including drug use and visits from sex workers. He continues:

One particularly raucous evening, a bunch of Uber Thailand employees were up late drinking and snorting coke, a semiregular occurrence at that office. One female Uber employee with the group had decided she didn’t want to do drugs with her colleagues, and tried to abstain. Before she could leave, her manager grabbed the woman and shook her, bruising her. Then he grabbed the back of her head and shoved her face-first into the pile of cocaine on the table, forcing her to snort the drugs in front of them.

November 7, 2024November 8, 2024

Drug traffickers and prostitutes used Uber with stolen credit card numbers

Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 182) reports drug traffickers and prostitutes using Uber for local transportation — and not even paying for it.

In Brooklyn, … credit card thieves used stolen card numbers to run drug trafficking and prostitution rings using Uber vehicles. The ruse was simple: the dealers would buy stolen credit card numbers from the Dark Web, then plug those numbers into the app to charge Uber trips to the stolen accounts. Over hundreds of trips per week they delivered drugs and call girls throughout New York City–all paid by Uber incentives or through chargebacks from credit card companies after the original card owners reported the fraud.

November 7, 2024November 8, 2024

Outrageous Miami party required pointed instructions to employees

Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped describes a large party Uber hosted for employees — where company leaders anticipated such problematic behavior that they had sharp guidance for employees:

[Kalanick] went on to advise his staff not to throw large kegs off of tall buildings, and mandate no interoffice sex unless coworkers explicitly stated “YES! I will have sex with you” to one another. He also noted that ny puking on hotel grounds would result in a $200 fine. The email set the tone for the rest of the retreat.

(p.23)

August 14, 2017November 7, 2024

Controlled substances used at work and during work hours

As part of a review by former attorney general Eric Holder, a report recommended that Uber “take steps to … prohibit the use of controlled substances, including … prohibiting consumption of non-prescription controlled substances during core work hours, at work events, or at other work-sponsored events.” The report was based on an assessment of actual practices and problems — indicating that the review team found evidence of use of controlled substances during core work hours and at work events.

Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped is in accord: “Managers were doing drugs with their subordinates–cocaine, marijuana, and ecstasy” (p.27).

August 14, 2017August 14, 2017

Passengers used Uber for drug deals

Vice reports passengers using Uber to pick up and distribute drugs. For example, in January 2015, two passengers in Los Angeles were found to be holding $2,000 of drugs and were using Uber to get to a drug transaction. Vice reports three other criminal cases involving Uber and drug dealing.

June 14, 2017August 14, 2017

Employee misconduct: drugs, theft, groping, threats of violence

In February 2017, the New York Times reported misconduct by Uber employees: A manager groped a female co-worker’s breasts at a company retreat, a director shouted a homophobic slur at a subordinate, a manager threatened to beat an underperforming employee with a baseball bat, employees used cocaine at private parties, and an employee hijacked a shuttle bus and took it for a joy ride.