The president of Uber’s Asia business was terminated after reporters questioned why he obtained medical records of a woman attacked by her Uber driver.
Uber has fired an executive who obtained medical records of a woman who had been raped by her Uber driver in India, the latest example of misconduct unearthed at the ride-hailing giant.
Eric Alexander, Uber’s president of business in Asia, was terminated on Tuesday for his actions after reporters began asking questions about the episode, according to three people familiar with it who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
Mr. Alexander’s possession of the medical report was widely known among top executives inside the company, including Travis Kalanick, Uber’s chief executive, these people said.
The episode is another example of what has been described as a toxic, aggressive environment at Uber that current and former employees say goes to the very top ranks of the company. Uber is currently in the middle of two internal investigations into its employees’ conduct and its culture.
On Tuesday, the company announced it had fired 20 employees over the last few months related to issues raised in one investigation, while dozens of others remained on notice or in training programs to help deal with the issues. Mr. Alexander was not among those employees.
Mr. Alexander, who was based in Hong Kong, obtained the report at the end of 2014 after it was made public that a woman accused her Uber driver of sexually assaulting her after she dozed off on a ride to her home in the Delhi region, the people said.
Mr. Alexander said he believed the episode was part of a conspiracy against Uber on behalf of Ola, the incumbent ride-hailing company in India and one of Uber’s largest Asian competitors. He spent time in India investigating the matter, and shared his concerns with Mr. Kalanick and Emil Michael, Uber’s senior vice president of business, who were also fixated on the case.
Uber declined to comment on the firing and Mr. Alexander did not respond to a request for comment. Recode first reported news of his departure.
