In the spring of 2014, Uber’s image in Europe was tarnished. The platform is accused of creating a new category of underpaid and underprotected jobs. The idea of tightening regulations, or even banning the Uber application, is gaining ground. The start-up then seeks to impose another story on political decision-makers and the media: that of a technological company, which structures the informal economy and creates jobs by the thousands.
“What we are sorely lacking in France at the moment is precisely scientific or academic evidence supporting our arguments”insists an Uber executive in an exchange of e-mails that The world was able to consult as part of the international “Uber Files” investigation. Hence the idea of finding an academic guarantee, “proving that our beautiful presentations are not just marketing but reflect reality”.
“Uber Files”, an international investigation
“Uber Files” is an investigation based on thousands of internal Uber documents sent by an anonymous source to the British daily The Guardianand forwarded to International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and 42 media partners, including The world.
Emails, presentations, meeting minutes… These 124,000 documents, dated from 2013 to 2017, offer a rare dive into the mysteries of a start-up which was then seeking to establish itself in cities around the world despite a regulatory context. unfavorable. They detail how Uber has used, in France as elsewhere, all the tricks of lobbying to try to change the law to its advantage.
The “Uber Files” also reveal how the Californian group, determined to impose itself by a fait accompli and, if necessary, by operating illegally, has implemented practices that voluntarily play with the limits of the law, or that may amount to judicial obstruction of the investigations of which he was the subject.
Find all our articles from the “Uber Files” survey
One name quickly stands out: Augustin Landier. At 39, this professor of economics, regularly invited by the media, has just been distinguished “best young economist” of the year 2014 by The world, the Senate and the Circle of Economists. The icing on the cake, he shares the benches of the Toulouse School of Economics with the Nobel Prize winner in economics Jean Tirole.
The interest is mutual. From the first exchanges, at the beginning of 2015, Augustin Landier and his co-author David Thesmar gave their agreement in principle to carry out a study on behalf of Uber. The compensation of 100,000 euros they are asking for is debated within the Californian company, but the attractiveness of the operation prevails. “The key message is jobs. (…) We will use the Landier report in all sauces to obtain a return on investment”writes a lobbyist.
Arrangement with the facts
The study, co-authored with Uber employee Daniel Szomoru, is published in March 2016, with mention that it is a company order. The researchers argue that the drivers of the platform would earn almost double the minimum wage. The media, both French (The echoes, Le Figaro, Capital, France 2, Arte…) and international (notably the FinancialTimes), gives a considerable echo to it. “Uber strongly creates jobs”will we even read on the Pôle Emploi website.
The study conducted by Augustin Landier does not show the many charges that affect the income of drivers
Holy bread for the application, at the cost of a certain arrangement with the facts. Indeed, this estimate of driver income does not take into account those who drop out of the application. And this is only a gross result before deduction of many charges that are incumbent on drivers, such as the purchase or rental of a vehicle, fuel or insurance.
You have 66.76% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.