Uber exec forced to resign

SAN FRANCISCO - Still reeling from claims that its leaders failed to respond to sexism and inappropriate behavior in the office, Uber on Monday dismissed one of its senior executives after learning he had been accused of sexual harassment while working at Google.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick asked Amit Singhal, his vice president of engineering, to resign after learning about the Google incident, an Uber spokeswoman said. Singhal on Monday denied the allegations and said he left Google for other reasons.

The leadership shakeup comes at a time of crisis for Uber, as the $68 billion ride-hailing giant continues to face intense national scrutiny after a former engineer earlier this month alleged in a post on her website that the company protected a manager who propositioned her for sex.

In an emailed statement, Singhal acknowledged he had been accused of sexual harassment while at Google, but denied that was the reason he left the company in February of last year.

'Harassment is unacceptable in any setting,” he wrote in a statement sent through a New York-based media relations company. 'I certainly want everyone to know that I do not condone and have not committed such behavior. In my 20-year career, I've never been accused of anything like this before and the decision to leave Google was my own.”

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Before joining Uber just over a month ago, Singhal spent 15 years as Google's senior vice president of search. He is largely credited as one of the brains behind the company's search capabilities.

He left Google in February 2016, saying in a public goodbye note that he wanted to focus on philanthropy and spend more time with his family.