Uber 'deeply hurting' after sexual harassment claims, it tells users deleting their accounts

Customers trying to delete their Uber account in light of former employee Susan Fowler’s sexual harassment allegations have started receiving a notification referencing the incident.

The taxi-hailing app company is launching an “urgent investigation” into the workplace issues raised by Ms Fowler, and has hired former US President Barack Obama’s Attorney General Eric Holder to lead it.

The claims have prompted the latest in a series of backlashes against Uber, with customers urging users to delete their accounts.

“Everyone at Uber is deeply hurting after reading Susan Fowler’s blog post,” reads the message, which is being sent to users in the process of cutting ties with Uber.

“What she describes is abhorrent and against everything Uber stands for and believes in.”

It goes on to describe its investigation into the allegations as “independent”, despite Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick telling employees that Uber board member Arianna Huffington, Uber’s chief human resources officer Liane Hornsey, and Uber’s associate general counsel Angela Padilla, will also help conduct the review.

“We believe in creating a workplace where a deep sense of justice underpins everything we do and it's everyone's number one priority to create change in the coming months and years,” the message continues.

According to Ms Fowler, during her time with the company a manager who “was trying to get me to have sex with him” faced no consequences from the human resources department because he “was a high performer”.

Earlier this month, it was reported that more than 200,000 users deleted their Uber accounts after the firm suspended surge pricing for journeys to New York’s John F. Kennedy airport, undermining a protest opposing Donald Trump's so-called ‘Muslim ban’.