Uber president Jeff Jones is leaving the ride dispatching company after less than six months,and the departure appears to be less amicable than Uber initially let on.

"It is now clear, however, that the beliefs and approach to leadership that have guided my career are inconsistent with what I saw and experienced at Uber, and I can no longer continue as president of the ride sharing business," Mr. Jones said in a scathing statement to the tech news website Recode, apparently a reference to Uber's continued struggle with issues around sexism and sexual harassment.

The resignation reportedly was completely unexpected.  It comes after CEO Travis Kalanick admitted he needed "leadership help" and commenced a search for a Chief Operating Officer.  Jones was reportedly disappointed he was not being considered for the post.

"After we announced our intention to hire a COO, Jeff came to the tough decision that he doesn't see his future at Uber," Kalanick said in a statement to employees.  "It is unfortunate that this was announced through the press, but I thought it was important to send all of you an email before providing comment publicly."

After Jeff Jones signed on with Uber in October 2016, he began with a meeting with drivers followed by an email soliciting their ideas of improving the operation.  But a second attempt to reach out to drivers in February resulted in a slew of angry comments and complaints - the sort of drama people familiar with Jones from previous gigs says he aims to avoid.

There is some speculation that once a COO is hired, Kalanick himself might step down.  His stormy reign has included being caught on video arguing with a driver over falling rates, and he has been roundly criticized after an infamous blog post from a female former engineer that chronicled alleged sexism and harassment in the company.  Since then, Uber's engineering chief was sacked for failing to disclose a past sexual harassment allegation and its VP of product and growth resign after being caught in an inappropriate consensual relationship with an underling - all on Kalanick's watch.