Verbatim. Me. Eight, twenty nineteen long Island city people who drivers gather on the sidewalk outside which New York headquarters includes there. Yet the bull horns and holding signs that say: invest in our lives not in their stocks and Bernard Mix, equals poverty for us in billions for them and just two days who you go public in a deal. That's expected devalue the company at eighty, two billion dollars driver feel like they long carried the company's financial burden, but this ip yo see like it's gonna, be everyone's payday except theirs, and their fed up, so their striking two thousand miles away in San Francisco goobers

Yo Dora cause. We're shy, can barely here himself think his glory. Goobers IP is less forty eight hours away. If it goes exceptionally well, he personally met upwards of one hundred million dollars, destroying fine tune. His speech, the blaring horns of a brass band, and the shouts of protesters are drowning out his thoughts He peered out a large window at market street. The crowds have quadrille since he last Jack speak. Several hundred drivers now he's He's the anger in their scowling faces. He looks way and turns to his top the our deputy how bad is it pretty bad? The strike is gone. Global Paris, London, in Melbourne. It's happening in every city, there's some drivers in the next, but its most the anti labour rhetoric were giving bonuses. More than a million drivers are getting. Bonuses descended the contractor issue just won't go away. You see

long, goobers categorized its drivers as independent contractors. It means the key when he isn't liable for paying their workers compensation, sick leave or health care benefits, no matter how many hours they work and that lets the company again cash two days later, when Goober finally does go public, it's a flop, millions people might use goober, but they don't want to start at the end of its work. Day of trading goobers stock closes below forty two dollars. A share down the eight percent from where it started. Cause Russia, he's ticked, Travis Calendar him with a mess. Now he has to the companies, ailing financials and fight against lawmakers, who were siding with aggrieved drivers and you'll have to do it well during a through a crisis alter ride, sharing forever support, for this

his wars comes from our friends at rocket mortgage by Quicken loans. Homes, is so much more than it was yesterday, but it rocket mortgage Ms still all about you during these challenges, I am sure all experiencing the top priority it right mortgages, the health and safety of the communities they serve and while things are changing quit, every day one thing that will never change is their teams: com and to giving you the best mortgage experience possible. That's why, if you need mortgage support, their team of experts is there your questions and offer solutions. They understand, Hardships happen in their here to help whether that means working with save money on your mortgage or finding a new way to navigate payments. If you have questions the team at rocket, mortgage has answers, they know how important your home is to you, because you are important to them. If you need he assistance the home loan experts at rocket mortgage or available to help twenty hours a day. Seven days a week, their home to yours. The team at rocket mortgage is with you visit rocket mortgage dot com, slash business wars, demand more call for cost information and conditions, equal housing lender

licence in all fifty states. Enamel ass consumer access, not a number thirty. Thirty from wondering. I'm David Brown- and this is business wars. In our last episode, Goober nearly imploded under Travis Callin Ex leadership, and he was forced to step down a ceo, the companies leader DORA cause we're shy, became known. Dad in chief a sober executive, who would uphold the rules? He immediately got to rebranding uber. After a year of relentless bad brass, lived benefited from goobers public battering. Taking

a ton of new business and raising a new round of financing ice war, is still simmering, but both companies are now competing on scooters, bikes and self driving cars, but they're about two a common enemy of an epic magnitude covered nineteen. This is episode. Six evolve were die. May twenty ninety phosphates, Gareth Townsend is eagerly waiting for his left right. You can't wait to hit the slots when it builds up. He opens the door he's terribly confused. There are two people sitting in the front seat, the team They can click the Corfu like on. He gets in car takes off, but before you check is left out. He notices the drivers. Hands aren't on the wheel,

well well. What are you doing that for the first time this is a cell, Driving car lives big better in the future. The companies up with self driving car manufacturer active. I have already given more than fifty thousand rise in sin city with no one taking the wheel and just outside Phoenix their partnering with Weymouth another driverless car start up counts in here's. The dashboard right about there conditioning vent a gps screen that shows the cars route as the car pulls up. Like a left, turn it waits patiently for traffic to pass the car seats. More cautious than a regular driver would be relieved Townsend eases back. Instructs texting is France to brag hello there, I'm in the future, and it's pretty cool John Zimmer and Logan Green believe self. Driving cars are the key to lift becoming profitable if they don't have to pay

drivers will be able to keep a bigger portion of the rightful simple math prob. Ms developing new technology is expensive, even though its revenue has been growing lit, is still losing money to the tune of more a billion dollars in the last three months. Uber is losing money too it's also investing heavily in self driving cars. The Ray sober. This cutting edge technology contained the pace self driving cars are the next major battleground and once again, drivers are the losers of timber. Twenty nineteen goobers saddle just go office, a young. Manager puts her back down sinks into her chair and opens up her laptop just then. She the message from her manager be me office at ten thirty, a M immediately. She feels butterflies and her stomach Things have been bad and over the last few months in July,

the company fired four hundred people from its marketing team, including one of her close friends theirs, F. O sent the whole staff and email with a subject line. Hashtag bind the money asking them to identify perks. They can part with. She takes a deep breath: and walked to the conference room. Her manager gets right to it. We have to make some cuts. I'm sorry! but this will be your last day. The employee walks, were desk. In a daze, though a few years and a bird in a whirlwind of one terrible surprise. After another, she's almost happy to be leaving this mess on another. Laura cause Russia. He sits down at his desk to write a difficulty email to his employees since Superman public in May. The company stock has been dropping it's now. Eating below its IP o price hard. The grand slam, they'd hope for

and while investors once gave Kaliko long leash happy to dump round after round of funding into the start up now they want returns. Profitability in August cause Russia. He had to break it to investors that Goober lost more than five billion dollars in its last quarter and he's got more news to deliver. He needs as employees at the lavish Buber Bro days are over no more Obscene Vegas trips with private beyond, say, concerts, no more can carousing at Miami night Clubs is tightening its belt beginning with its head count. Cause Russia. He rolled up his sleeves and starts typing in the past, who are teams rapidly and in a decentralized way. This made sense as we work to scale the business globally and find product market fit cause we shy takes a deep breath. Certain point: vigour,

I do not mean better results. Its critical, we get our edge back and continually push ourselves to do better. With that uber fires. Four hundred thirty five people, including two top office is to Kallenbach, Aligned board members stepped out. Cause Russia. He is quickly dismantling Callin ex domain October. Twenty nineteen Sacramento California, in the White State Senate House, council members are debating a bill that could change the entire business model for goober and lift if the eighty five bill passes the ride, cheering giants we'll have to treat their drivers as employees, employees with a slew of benefits, rather than as independent contractors, the room, goes to a vote, by one the

leaders vote in favour of a beehive. The assembly approves it fifty six to fifteen back. It lives headquarters. Simmering green slump in their chairs, refreshing their news, apps waiting anxiously for the results of the vote, sure we painted themselves as the good guys the moral choice when it comes to ride sharing, but they ve never sided with the drivers on this proposed legislation. There, too, reed it'll heard their bottom line and potentially put them out of business. Green speaks first, This is bad they bad Zimmer nods, which to cut costs, and this is going to ruin everything Zimmer, Stanza, we're gonna fight this. He cracks are smart and so is over we're on the same side for what

uber San Francisco office. Its chief technology officers springs into action here, set email to employees calling for volunteers to help with the new project. I'm looking for folks to work on a career a project around eighty five. This will be One of the most critical impact full and urgent initiatives we have ever undertaken. He hit send and project Luigi named after the famous Super Mario character is born. Its goobers and to build a new app for California. Drivers in this version, drivers will be able to see trip, fares up front and other features that give them more control. In other words, goober would be able to argue that its drivers are independent and therefore not employees company not stopping their either. Its legal team is looking hard for a precious loophole, one that will get Goober to the costly new ruling Tony West

members chief legal counsel, jumps on a phone call with reporters. Contrary to some of the rhetoric we heard. Eighty five does not offer radically reclassify any right, sheer drivers from independent contractors to employees, in other words, I share. Drivers are not essential to goobers business. Several previous rulings have found that drivers work is outside the usual course of goobers business, which is serving as a technology platform for several different types of did. No market places that raised his eyebrows, most of all among drivers, How are they not essential workers to a ride? Cheering business but the phrase central worker is about to take got a whole new, meaning tyres, equity investors good for this march twentieth. Twenty twenty four is New York City, a we driver is sitting on a couch at home, watching the news it's Friday, one hundred normal

He would be in his car, ferrying people home from work and off to bars and restaurants yielding, but his ass. Gone quiet. The city is begin to experience the impact of covert nineteen yield of New York date already has seven thousand cases, one for the law, sweet or so residents have been socially distancing and staying inside. As a result, his rights have dropped way off with it. Just then Governor Andrew Cuomo comes on the screen, so we're going to put out negative order. Today, New York state on pause, The drivers ears pricked up his ears applicant. What does this mean for him? One hundred percent of the workforce must stay home and now under lockdown its crystal clear, no one should be driving around potentially spreading the disease or in a car and close proxy but he a stranger Ober also about to be hit hard by covered. Nineteen

but it'll be even worse for lift the smallest, up, doesn't have any alternative revenue models. Besides ride cheering Goober On the other hand, has one last trick up its sleeve April, twenty twenty LOS Angeles, It's a brisk sunny day on Fairfax Avenue and Charlie Richmond is driving to pick up a sandwich. He pulls to the familiar red building. White cursive spell out the restaurant name up top counters, a more He advertises its where's restaurant bakery delicatessen, lunch time in the line would usually stretched the door, but things are different. These days, Los Angeles is under quarantine orders. The restaurant is empty set for one woman behind the counter who was in plastic, gloves a giant pumped up or of hand. Sanitizing sits on the counter in front of her rich walks right up to the pick up counter amass covering a space,

I have enumerated order. First, Sarah, the when's voices muffled behind her mask as she speaks crawling around with her. Had she places a brown paper bag on the counter with a receipt staple to the outside Rich one gets back in his car sap navigates him to drop the sandwich, Sarah, he follows: directions down: Beverly Boulevard towards one of the beautiful houses on the palm line streets in Beverly Hills. Rich when used to dry passengers for Ober, but businesses dried up completely, so he swore to driving for goober eats as you which is the Gruber each app alert. Sarah Richmond, out of the car and walks up to her front door. He bent over and places round back on our front step. This is contactless delivery. Regiments happy to have work but he's having to log substantial miles in order to make any real money who Bereaves is taking a twin

Five percent cod. With a country on Lockdown Newberry, Caesar thirty percent boost in people signing up to browse boo through the app orders are also way up and cause we're sure he is what closely, rumors circulating that goober will lean end to this revenue stream even more by acquiring delivery, competitor grub hub left. Meanwhile, left out in the cold. It doesn't an existing food delivery service. It can lean on it. Nice to reassure writers that lives cars, Romania a safe option, because their regularly cleaned and drivers wear masks It knows. Ride sharing is decimated for the foreseeable future, so lift launch is a central deliveries, a programme to transport heels groceries and medical supplies government agencies, local nonprofits businesses and healthcare organizations. They team up with partners like Dole packaged foods.

And local food banks in restaurants to get meals out sharing the cost. Of the goods and deliveries with other companies. Helps drivers earn money, but it doesn't do anything for shareholders and that's a problem. Both goober and lived or giant companies by now if they're going to whether covered nineteen there, have to make sense, These changes we get support from net sweet by Oracle the world's number one cloud business system, America's ready to get back to work, but to win in the new economy. You need every advantage to succeed, with nets we you'll, have visibility and control over your financials hr, inventory, e commerce and more everything you need all in one place What are you doing? A million or hundreds of millions in sales nets? We?

lets you manage every penny with precision. You'll have the ability to compete with anyone work from anywhere and run your whole company right from your phone nets. Wheat surveyed, hundreds of business leaders and assembled a play book of the tops strategies they're using as a reopens for business. Get that free play book. The actions businesses need to take now and schedule your free product tour at net, sweet dot, com, slash wars joint over twenty thousand companies who trust net sweet to make it happen. That's a free guide and schedule your free product to a right now at net, sweet dot, com, slash wars, net, sweet dot, com, slash, wars, support, business wars comes from Miro mirrors, the online collaborative whiteboard we're product teams get worked on the team at upward leverages Miro too, act and collaborate across their distributed team of over three hundred members because mirror

Has such robust pre built frameworks and templates every single project it upward is touched by Miro gone. Are the days were teams point webcams at whiteboard now Everyone gets to participate directly from their browser in real time on mirror online whiteboard in today's market. Remote flexibility and distributed teams are increasingly the norm and companies need to adapt. In order to succeed, that's why the tea up work uses Miro to maximize their remote workers, job satisfaction and streamlined. Collaboration across their distributed team, create your free account today at Miro dot com, slash business wars that em, I r, o dot com, slash business wars, April

twenty twenty are on his own call from their respective homes joining them executives from the rest of the company. They are getting ready to submit lifts quarterly report to the Essie, see the bloodiest The company went public Brian Run, Hertz Lyft CEO pushes back his dark hair and clears his throat. Well, it's not pretty a revenue is fallen off a cliff. No one is taking right. And we have a duty to shareholders to do something about it. Others secular, sick quietly green looks but his screen afraid increasing his forehead. We, We wanted to restructure anyway, but what sort of numbers are you suggesting Roberts pauses? We need At least nine hundred eighty employees there's a collector, sharp inhale of breath, green

his head in his hands. Zimmer jumps in Brian. That's like seventeen percent of our workforce, can't we just Burma them look, there's no point This way to do this, we have to cut nine hundred eighty people and furlough two hundred eighty Zimmer Epps his desk the line, quiet as everyone processes, the news devastated. Finally, Roberts breaks the silence I wish there was another way, but we have a budget sherry duty to our shareholders. It is up to take a twenty to thirty percent pay cuts themselves and the board for goes a chump their compensation for the coming quarter. They aren't alone ubers, also hurting and because it so much bigger than lift its cuts are bigger too cause Russia, he slashes thirty, seven hundred jobs to save one billion dollars,

stay at home. Orders across the country had completely demolished goobers business rides April were down. Eighty percent from a year earlier, it's only bright spot, liberates, reburied stood close four point: seven billion dollars in sales in the first quarter of twenty twenty thanks to the uptake and take out, but there's more bad news in May California, sues uber and lived for alleged we miss classifying their drivers as independent contractors. If found guilty, they would to reclassify contractors as employees, a move that could decimate their business as effective measure goober and lived or trying to rewrite the rules themselves, their joining with companies who are spending millions to lobby for a ballot initiative that would exist. From the law June. Twenty two green and Zimmer back on Zoom, its the pair review: maize numbers the last.

Months have been brutal across both goober. An lived ride. Share trips dropped. Eighty percent. Now They want to see what the latest is. Green goes first. Well, it's nowhere near as bad as April or may rise were up twenty six percent per annum small Zimmer looks. It is co founder on screen yeah from what I can see that mostly in states like taxes were quarantine. Orders were eating green in clicks around us and historical numbers. Unfortunately, it's not good when compared to last year, what are we talking green pauses as he squint at the figure right down seventy percent compared to May of last year simmer let out a whistle ass. Green, can't help but loud awry smile. That we'd have a nasty your enemy than over this pandemic is ruthless,

the two let out a dry chuckle been through so much with Ober. Now there businesses been all but decimated by covid. Nineteen but things are beginning to pick back up like the rest of us there praying vaccine comes quickly, so they can get back to work. Gilbert left not only appended transportation. In America they created a gig economy. First, it seemed like Silicon Valley was delivering on its promise of engineering. The future thanks. Just perhaps like goober and lived people have the freedom to work when they wanted how they wanted the lack of Britain genes for drivers soon showed that this future just as hard on workers, as in the past, American Valley has had its share of see your rock stars and start up culture gone wildly astray. Chow ex meteoric rise and catastrophic flame out became a cautionary tale

is no longer enough just to grow venture capital sir, less willing to flood companies with capital for years without seeing returns, both lived and goober problem, Their companies will be in the black by twenty twenty one. Who is not clear, exactly how covered nineteen will affect our bodies Nineteen stretches on its ball impacts. Heavier. To be revealed the few of the ride sharing wars as yet be written. From wondering this is episode. Six of goober versus lived for business word. If you like, So please give us a five star rating in a review and be sure to your friends, subscriber apple pie, casts Spotify or wherever you're listing right now in the episode no you'll find some links and offers more sponsors. Please support them.

Other way. You can support the shows by filling out a small survey, wondering dot com, slash survey and tell us business stories, you'd like to hear a quick note about recreations you ve been hearing. In most cases we can't know exactly what was said. Those scenes are dramatization, but they are based on historical research like to learn more about goober. Unless we recommend super puffed by MIKE Isaac and be upstarts by add stone. I'm your host David Brown. Sadly, rubber mad wrote this story. Karen low is our senior producer and editor edited empty, by Emily Frost, sound designed by Kyle Random, our exists. Producers are Jenny. Lauer Batman and martial newly created or Non Lopez for wondering

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