Uber has cemented itself as an integral part of urban life in many countries around the world. Since its founding 2009, it has become one of the most successful ride-hailing apps along with Grab and Lyft.
But just as everything that comes up must come down, it looks like the company has reached its peak and is on the way to a decline. That is if its executives’ recent moves are an indicative factor of its future.
Recent Moves
The company recently laid off a quarter of its workforce amidst the shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. This second round of layoffs came just weeks after it let go of 14% of its global workforce.
The bad news didn’t end there, though. The announcement was also accompanied by a statement saying that Jill Hazelbaker, one of Uber’s senior vice presidents, has decided to sell half of her stake in the company.
Documents revealed that she earned $8.6 million from the sale. As you can expect, Hazelbaker’s move was met with suspicion.
For starters, the trade didn’t qualify under a rule that allows stockholders to sell their shares without violating insider trading rules or leaving the impression that they’ve lost confidence in the company.
Second, the size of the transaction was deemed to be unusual as well. She reportedly made the sale in four parts between May 21 to May 25.
Rising Concerns
Now, remaining Uber employees are beginning to be concerned about the company’s future. Some are even speculating that Hazelbaker, the current longest-serving executive at Uber, is gearing up to resign altogether.
It’s also worth noting that she has never cashed her shares until recently. Hazelbaker is the last remaining executive from the time of ex-CEO Travis Kalanick.
She isn’t the only notable shareholder who has decided to sell her stocks. Garret Camp, the app’s co-founder, has sold $69.6 million of his own since the pandemic hit the United States.
Camp Resigns
And before that, Camp stepped down from his position on the company’s board at the end of March. The Canadian billionaire shared that he remains involved in Uber’s product strategy development as he felt he is most helpful in this position.
Meanwhile, he switched to an ‘observer’ role on the board.