Uber drivers plan international protest ahead of US$9 billion IPO
The protest will span across the United States and United Kingdom, with drivers in London and its surrounding cities saying that they will turn off their apps at 7.00am on Wednesday.
Drivers of ride-hailing app Uber are planning to stage an international protest against the tech firm ahead of its US$9 billion initial public offering (IPO) by turning off their ride-hailing apps on May 8, 2019 to complain over low wages, unstable work and an unsustainable business model.
The protest will span across the United States (US) and United Kingdom, with drivers in London and its surrounding cities saying that they will turn off their apps at 7.00am on Wednesday while driver groups in US cities such as Boston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco will also be participating in the strike, Bloomberg said.
Some driver groups are calling for a strike that will last from 7.00am to 4.00pm while others are asking for drivers to boycott the app for a full day.
Uber’s situation is not that different from rival Lyft’s recent IPO, where protestors had staged a protest during Lyft’s investor roadshow and its drivers had went on strike in Los Angeles and San Diego.
Uber is due to price its shares on Thursday and expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. It has not made a final decision on the price of its shares.
People familiar with Uber’s IPO told Bloomberg that the firm has enough investor demand to price its stock at the top end of its price range. Earlier reports revealed the firm’s consideration to debut at share prices of between US$44 and US$50 per share.
Uber’s share sale could raise as much as US$9 billion, which is a sum that is likely to be the largest listing this year as well as one of the largest US listings in history. The deal would value the business at US$84 billion.
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