- A former employee at Kalanick's startup said leaving at 7 p.m. would invite jokes about working part-time.
- Sources say his controversial bro culture and lack of work-life balance are evident at
CloudKitchens . - Kalanick was ousted from
Uber in 2017 after a series of scandals.
If employees at
In Insider's investigation into the ex-Uber CEO's secretive startup, former employees revealed the lack of a work-life balance at CloudKitchens, which leases kitchen space to restaurants that want to get in on the food delivery boom.
"If someone would leave at 7 p.m. they'd joke, 'Are you a part-timer?" one former CloudKitchens employee told Insider, who also said she left some personal items at her desk at times so her coworkers wouldn't know if she left at 9 p.m. Former employees also said working 12-to-14-hour days was common, and some could be on call 24/7.
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It indicates how Kalanick has brought his trademark and controversial leadership style to his new venture, which he launched after $4. Kalanick helmed the ride-sharing company as it bloomed into a giant before allegations of discrimination and sexual harassment led to his resignation in 2017.
The "temple of bros" culture at CloudKitchens has seemingly disturbed some employees - 300 corporate workers have left the company this year, sources told Morris.
Some employees voiced disapproval about what they viewed was racist branding that CloudKitchens created, such as allowing $4 Kalanick refused to change it, saying his company does not bow to woke culture.
Sources also said some employees wear "No Quinoa" t-shirts to signal their opposition to what some view as the tech industry's coddled work culture. The phrase came from an Uber all-hands meeting, at which an employee asked then-CEO Kalanick why the company had stopped serving quinoa, which infuriated the founder.
Kalanick, according to employees, would decry staff who listened to the "mob," a term for the media and leftist critics.
The company declined to comment on Insider's investigation.