Uber should not exist

In 2020 Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi floated the possibility of temporarily suspending services in California if Uber was forced to make its drivers eligible for minimum wage, union membership, and health care benefits. The company spent $190 million to get a ballot measure passed that allowed it to continue exploiting its workers, and it is spending millions more in Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, and other states that have considered this labor reform.
Unlike the U.S., Uber isn't having the same political success in Europe, but that doesn't appear to bother Khosrowshahi.

“We can make any model work,” Khosrowshahi said when asked about potential EU legislation that would require Uber to designate drivers as employees or provide additional rights such as vacation time and a pension.

Speaking by video at a December 14 “fireside chat” hosted by the Swiss bank UBS, Khosrowshahi told investors that recent decisions in Spain and the United Kingdom have not drastically harmed the company. In the past year, both countries have enacted rules compelling gig companies to provide more worker protections to drivers.

After winning the election battle in California, Uber then immediately went on the attack against its own drivers.

“While fares have skyrocketed in this market, the drivers’ pay has not been raised at all.”

Eaton said several recent changes have driven down pay for drivers, including an increased cancellation waiting time, a reduction in minimum pay for long distance trips.
Also, with significantly increased fares, Eaton said there have been no raises to compensate for increased costs of living in his area or rising gas prices.

Uber likes to say that it only take 25% of a driver's fare, but in reality it's closer to 50% since Prop 22 took effect. Uber changed it's app so that drivers can't see what the passengers pay.

the percentage Uber and Lyft take from fares and distribute to drivers for compensation has reduced over the years from around 60% to 75% to a fraction of the fare in many cases. Some Uber drivers have reported even being charged for providing passengers with rides

Uber directly exploits it's workers, and carves out exception in the law, so you would think that Uber is making lots of money, amirite?
Instead Uber continues to be a money pit for wealthy investors.

Uber lost $672 million in 2014. At this time Uber was said it be worth $40 Billion.
Uber lost $2 Billion in 2015.
Uber lost $2.8 Billion in 2016, while claiming the company was worth $68 billion.
Uber lost $4.5 billion in 2017.
Uber "only" lost $1.8 billion in 2018.
So were they finally turning it around?

"The trend is good," says Bradley Tusk, a political consultant and investor in Uber. "Revenue up. Losses down, even though they keep investing heavily around the world."

Instead Uber lost a staggering $8.51 billion in 2019.
Uber lost another $6.77 billion in 2020.
As for 2021, the final numbers aren't in yet, but we do know that Uber lost $108 million in Q1, $509 million in Q2, but made a minuscule $8 million in profit in Q3.

That's $27.661 BILLION in losses since 2014.
That's far larger than the GDP of Iceland.

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Drivers don't matter

Newly released video footage appears to show California police officers using a law enforcement dog to severely maul an Uber driver, who fell behind on payments for the car he rented to do his job.

San Ramon police stopped Ali Badr, a 42-year-old Egyptian immigrant, in December 2020 after a rental company reported his vehicle as stolen. In footage obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle, police in the Bay Area city can be seen releasing the dog on the unarmed and barefoot driver without warning within seconds of stopping him, even though Badr was not resisting.

The dog clamped down on Badr’s right arm for nearly a minute, mangling him so severely that he required multiple surgeries. In a lawsuit filed last month, Badr, who was never charged, said he was left with “severe physical and psychological injuries” and has not regained full use of his arm and hand since the incident.
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He fell behind on his payments toward the end of the contract, the Chronicle reported, but made arrangements to pay the company. CarMommy’s CEO, John Blomeke, reported the vehicle as stolen, which language in the contract Badr signed stipulated could happen if he fell behind on payments and “other criteria were met”, according to the newspaper. HyreCar declined to comment on the matter while Uber and CarMommy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rental agreements such as these became common as Uber and Lyft expanded across the US. Short-term car rentals through partners such as HyreCar offer fewer hoops to jump through than typical car rental arrangements, and the short-term car rentals gave Uber and Lyft access to a new pool of drivers.

But some drivers have claimed that the rental arrangements can be predatory, sometimes requiring higher rental and other costs in exchange for lower pay. For some drivers like Badr, it was at times difficult to make enough to cover the monthly or weekly payments, at which point drivers were typically required to immediately return the vehicle. For many that meant losing at least one source of income and, in some cases, their temporary homes.

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zed2's picture

a US legal wage.

They corporate state likely wants to get rid of minimum wages here in the US altogether. Another WTO member, a very populous country has brought us before an international tribunal claiming that we are discriminating against their services and staffing firms, by maintaining domestic regulations that keep their businesses and workers out, when we already agreed in 1994 not to.

Then 163 other WTO countries corporations have a right to set up here, and bring their own essential workers. The US minimum wage is the only reason they don't.

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zed2's picture

If they treat the workers that ARE the business, They should be brought to justics and forced to pay HUGE fines that are reimbursed to their employees for their labor.

They should pay them the back pay they are owed.
Screw the "pig economy". Let it and the banks who salivate over it, die.

Isn't the CEO of Uber famous for being a huge festering asshole? Sorry for the language but really, nothing gentler is appropriate under the circumstances. Politicians that enable creeps like them should also go to prison for a long long time.

Uber drivers are paid so little many are homeless. California has a great many, Forced to live in cars. In parking lots. If that is the country's future that is planned for us by the power elite, one where people are treated like animals by corporations, we deserve to fail at it. May the Beltway types gain some humility and understanding by spending time in others shoes. Or barefoot.

Lets call that enabling in high places what it is, out of control corruption.

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@zed2 and he treats his workers in an inexcusable way. Which is enough by itself.
Full stop.

Nevertheless, the massive losses are unprecedented and worth noting for one of two reasons.
1) if Uber manages to drive all the cab companies out of business then the investors will demand that Uber makes huge rate hikes while abusing its workers even more, in order to make the money back.
2) if Uber doesn't gain its monopoly then it'll go bankrupt. Because of the huge losses, it will create shockwaves throughout the financial sector.

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zed2's picture

Dont companies like they have to pay at least a US legal wage?

Aren't they in the USA? If not where are they based, Delaware, Ireland?

People should stay away from companies that are involved in sketchy operations that may not be legal. They all may collapse at the same time and have to pay back those they have eviscerated?

This video is about the 2008 global grab, which cost normal people trillions of dollars after the banking and mortgage industry was deregulated, leaving millions of people defenseless against these thieves in suits.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2IaJwkqgPk]

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dystopian's picture

I hate Uber. They exist by skirting and flaunting all taxi (commericial carriage for hire) laws. They are the perfect example of late stage capitalism. Financial extraction without providing any value. They take the investor money and besides paying themselves, spend it fighting fair labor laws and public transportation. Kill the options (taxis and public transit) has been the long game plan. They are evil F'rs. Thanks for keeping that in view! Smile

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

The Liberal Moonbat's picture

That's one thing I've never fully understood; what kind of indispensable function does it PUTATIVELY (let's not even worry about de facto for the moment) serve for the decades-old "unlicensed freelance cabbie" vocation that used to get along without it?

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In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

@The Liberal Moonbat
It's scabbing at worst.

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The Liberal Moonbat's picture

@gjohnsit Like I said, I'm asking about the PUTATIVE purpose, not de facto. Nobody would sign up to be an Uber driver if they said that was what they were offering - and again, both those pursuits you mentioned can and always have been achieved before WITHOUT Uber.

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In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

bondibox's picture

What are Uber's expenses? Coding and maintaining their app would seem to be #1, and the IT costs associated with running the app. Then there are credit card fees. If they only give the drivers 50% of the cut, then where the hell is all that money going???

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“He may not have gotten the words out but the thoughts were great.”

@bondibox
They are a tech company, so I don't believe that they give dividends either.

If I had to guess, I would say a) bribing politicians and regulators (both legal and illegal), and b) an incredibly poorly run company.

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