According to a report by VentureBeat, private limousine service Uber had parted ways with its management team located in Berlin. Uber launched its services in the capital of Germany in January, along with its employment of 400 drivers for its business to fulfill demands in the German market.
Uber's Patrick Studener, who handles international launches for the private service provider, had tapped the services of the company's European head, Benedetta Arese Lucini, to assist Studener for a replacement team for its Berlin office. The company had already put up a job ad on its website. The job ad indicated a need for a general manager for the local office in Berlin who must have at least more than seven years expertise in banking, management, investing and consulting.
VentureBeat also noted that all drivers at the Berlin office were given notice regarding a change in local management.
Venturebeat asked Studener regarding the reason why the company decided to let go of its management team. Studener provided with an answer that did not directly address the question. He said, Berlin is one of our oldest Uber cities, which will always exist."
Uber is competing for a significant share of the private service market from private equity firm-backed Blacklane, and car rental service Sixt-backed Mydriver.com. Despite the competition in Berlin, Uber also provides services in 53 other cities in 21 countries all over the world. Last August, its value was at around USD3.5 billion from institutional investors, majority in the Silicon Valley, by selling some of C-1 and C-2 stocks. Despite getting flak from regulators in the US over claims of unsafe practices and certifications for its vehicles, the support for Uber indicated that the charges did not reduce investor support. 775,092 shares of Uber's C-2 stock went to TPG for USD114.03 apiece, while 105,235 C-1 shares were sold to existing investor Benchmark at USD142.54 per share. Google Ventures purchased 1.8 million C-1 shares of the company for USD250 million. All figures were based from sources cited on tech news blog AllThingsD.
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