Uber CEO to take leave, leadership team to run company

The announcement comes as former U.S. Attorney Eric Holder released a list of recommendations to improve Uber's toxic workplace culture, which condoned sexual harassment, bullying and retaliation against those who reported problems.

Uber should use performance reviews to hold senior managers accountable by setting metrics for improving diversity and responsiveness to employee complaints, the report says.

Liane Hornsey, Uber's chief human resources officer, said implementing the recommendations "will improve our culture, promote fairness and accountability, and establish processes and systems to ensure the mistakes of the past will not be repeated."

The report makes it clear that Uber was not doing enough to protect workers from sexual harassment and retaliation, noting that company policies need to state directly that such conduct is prohibited.

Last week, the company fired 20 people including some managers at the recommendation of Perkins Coie, which probed specific complaints made to the company about sex harassment, bullying, and retaliation for reporting problems.

The 40-year-old CEO said earlier this year that he needed to "fundamentally change and grow up."

Besides the sexual harassment complaints, in recent months Uber has been threatened by boycotts, sued and subject to a federal investigation over its use of a fake version of its app to thwart authorities looking into whether it is breaking local laws.