Travis Kalanick has resigned from his position as chief executive of Uber, the ride-hailing service he co-founded in 2009, after shareholders questioned his ability to continue leading the scandal-ridden company.

According to the New York Times, long-term investors, including venture capital firms Benchmark, First Round Capital, Lowercase Capital, Menlo Ventures and mutual fund Fidelity Investments, successfully convinced Kalanick to relinquish his role after hours of heated discussion. The investors, who combined own more than a quarter of Uber’s stock and preferential shares that give them about 40 percent of voting power, previously outlined their demands in a letter titled “Moving Uber Forward." In the letter, they claimed that the company needed a change of leadership and were not satisfied that Kalanick’s previous offer to take an indefinite leave of absence would be sufficient enough to repair the damage caused by a series of recent scandals.

“I love Uber more than anything in the world and at this difficult moment in my personal life I have accepted the investors request to step aside so that Uber can go back to building rather than be distracted with another fight,” said Kalanick, who will remain on Uber’s board of directors, in a statement.

In a separate statement, reported on by the New York Times, the company’s board said that Kalanick had “always put Uber first," before adding that his departure as chief executive would give the company “room to fully embrace this new chapter in Uber’s history.”

Uber board member Bill Gurley also tweeted about Kalanick's exit.

There will be many pages in the history books devoted to @travisk - very few entrepreneurs have had such a lasting impact on the world.

— Bill Gurley (@bgurley) June 21, 2017

One Too Many Scandals

Kalanick’s reputation for transforming Uber into the world’s dominant ride-hailing service has been tarnished in recent months by a number of damaging allegations. Earlier this year, a former engineer at the company published a blog post describing a workplace rife with sexual harassment and gender discrimination.

This revelation led to a series of similar complaints from other members of staff, forcing Uber to launch an internal investigation into its workplace culture. Among the many reforms recommended was that Kalanick’s role at the company should be reduced. (See also: The Story of Uber.)

In February, Kalanick was caught on camera arguing with an Uber driver over falling fares.

To make matters worse, Uber was also hit with an intellectual property lawsuit from Alphabet's Google (GOOGL), amid claims that the ride-hailing service had stolen trade secrets from its self-driving car business Waymo. Uber also faces a federal inquiry after it emerged that it used a software tool designed to deceive regulators of its presence in cities where its taxi services are banned.

Kalanick responded to this wave of toxic allegations by offering to take an indefinite leave of absence, claiming that he could use the time to work on himself and grieve for his mother, who died last month in a boating accident. However, in the letter, reported on by the New York Times, shareholders stressed that more drastic action was required to salvage the company’s tarnished reputation. (See also: Can Uber Solve Its Leadership Crisis?)