Expedia’s chief technology officer and senior engineer sacked for company policy violation

Expedia’s chief technology officer and senior engineer sacked for company policy violation
Edited by Travel Weekly


    Travel company Expedia Group said its chief technology officer and a senior engineering leader have been sacked over “a violation of company policy” just two days after the company held its annual product and partner conference in Las Vegas.

    CTO Rathi Murthy and Sreenivas Rachamadugu, the senior vice president of Core Services Product and Engineering, have been let go due to the unspecified violation of company policy.

    Both had been at the company since 2021 after joining from Verizon Media. Murthy gave a speech at the recent conference about how she was preparing the company for “next era of AI” in the travel industry.

    She spoke about the new AI-powered features announced by Expedia, in a conversation with Techcrunch. She also reportedly presented these facilities at an Expedia conference with business partners.

    The pair “are no longer employed at Expedia Group”, the company said in a statement.

    “This decision is the result of a violation of Company policy. We’re actively searching to fill these roles and remain confident in our technology, strategy, and employees.”

    The company declined to share additional details on the firing decision and Murthy and Rachamadugu have not responded requests for comments.

    In the wake of their dismissal, Expedia immediately sought to fill their roles.

    “We’re actively searching to fill these roles and remain confident in our technology, strategy, and employees,” stated the company.

    In February, Ariane Gorin was announced as the new CEO and officially assumed her role this week. The company is yet to comment on how the latest changes will impact its operations or future plans.

    On Location: Expedia CEO assures AI will not replace human roles, announces AI text assistant

    Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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