Embattled Uber CEO Travis Kalanick takes indefinite leave of absence

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick announced that he would take an indefinite leave of absence on Tuesday as the embattled company released a damning report on its workplace culture that called on the company to "review and reallocate" Kalanick's responsibilities. "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," Kalanick wrote in an email to staff that referenced the death of his mother last month in a boating accident. "If we are going to work on Uber 2.0, I also need to work on Travis 2.0 to become the leader that this company needs and that you deserve." Kalanick's leave comes at a time of considerable turmoil for the ride-hail app. On Sunday, the board of directors voted unanimously to adopt the recommendations of a workplace review led by the law firm of former US attorney general Eric Holder.