GM’s Cruise robotaxi unit lays off 900 workers
General Motors’ troubled Cruise autonomous vehicle unit is cutting over 900 jobs, about a quarter of its workforce, as it moves to reduce costs and remake itself after a series of safety problems in San Francisco.
The subsidiary announced the cuts Thursday in a letter to Cruise’s 3,800 workers from President and Chief Technical Officer Mo ElShenawy, who wrote that the layoffs are not the fault of the workers.
The job cuts come a day after Cruise confirmed that nine key leaders are no longer with the company amid an ongoing investigation into an October crash involving one of its driverless robotaxis that forced it to suspend operations.
“We are simplifying and focusing our efforts to return with an exceptional service in one city to start with,” ElShenawy wrote. “As a result of our decision to slow down commercialization, we are restructuring to focus on delivering the improvements to our tech and vehicle performance that will build trust in our AVs (autonomous vehicles),” the letter said.
The employment actions come following an initial analysis of the Oct. 2 crash and the company response after a Cruise robotaxi ran over and injured a pedestrian who had been hit by another vehicle driven by a human. The Cruise vehicle then dragged the pedestrian to the side of the road.
California regulators have alleged that Cruise covered up the severity of the October crash — which could result in a potential penalty of roughly $1.5 million. The robotaxi service is also being investigated by U.S. auto safety regulators after separately receiving reports of potential risks to pedestrians and passengers.