Usually when you hear about countries taking issue with Uber, it's because their cab drivers are complaining that the ride-hailing service is putting them out of business.
Not in Istanbul. There, it's the Uber drivers, themselves, who have a problem with the ride-hailing juggernaut.
Bloomberg is reporting that nearly 250 Uber drivers are organizing a walkout in protest of the company's 25-percent price cut.
The news agency is reporting that the drivers met on Friday in Istanbul and plan on delivering a letter to the company's head management to formally announce their decision to abandon the service until the fee cut is rejected and the 25-percent pay cut is restored. It additionally reports that as of Friday evening in Istanbul, the ride-hailing app showed no drivers available for pickups in the city's center location.
That being said, it's unknown how many Uber drivers Turkey has. This isn't a good precedent, though, considering Uber just started service in Turkey last year and the tech giant is in the process of raising as much as $2.1 billion in financing in the country, as reported by Bloomberg.
The protesting Uber drivers are from the UberXL service whose drivers steer Volkswagen or Mercedes-Benz minivans.
Is nearly 250 drivers threatening a walkout enough for Uber to repeal its 25-percent price cut in Istanbul or will the service simply opt to replace those drivers willing to drive?
