As caller like Waymo and Tesla project to step on the gas and expand robotaxi oblation across the country , GM is shifting gears to reverse . Anemail obtained by TechCrunchrevealed that the largest automaker in the United States is cut almost one-half of the workforce currently at Cruise , the autonomous vehicle company thatGM had investedin to the melodic line of $ 10 billion .
The layoff , which were announced by Craig Glidden , Cruise ’s president and chief administrative police officer , will regard intimately 1,000 employees , according to Reuters . That includes Cruise ’s CEO , Marc Whitten , who will leave the company this hebdomad . Executives heading out the doorway with him are chief safe officer Steve Kenner , and world head teacher of public policy Rob Grant , and primary technologist Mo Elshenawy .
The layoffs come as General Motors announced that itcompleted a full acquisition of Cruise , impart the one - time startup completely under its cap . With GM ’s ownership comes a change in focus . The robotaxi job is mostly being abandoned in favor of autonomous applied science for personal vehicles — specifically , GM ’s Super Cruise arrangement , which it has installed in many of its new manakin .
Cruise vehicle parked in a parking lot© Tada Images/Shutterstock
Secondly , the robotaxi has been a material money pit for GM . Not only has the fellowship been investing large nub into the service that has yet to really take off , but it ’s also caused some serious injury to people who have unconsentingly been break to what amounts to a very public beta examination of these self - driving vehicles . In 2023 , a Cruise robotaxistruck a footer and dragged them 20 animal foot , resulting in serious injuries — an incident the companytried to lie aboutto the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration during its investigation .
Cruise robotaxis also made headlines back in 2022 when about 20 of the vehicle managed toget into a standoff that blockade San Fransisco trafficfor nearly two hours . Another gottangled in the city ’s light rail lineand have postponement . ANew York Times reportfound that Cruise vehicles take human intercession at least once for every 2.5 to five miles drive , which made them pretty far from self - driving condition .
If nothing else , GM ’s decision to fold up the robotaxi business should take into account San Franciscans to respire a sigh of ministration . That ’s one fewer autonomous terror to worry about on their city streets .
CruiseGENERAL MOTORSlayoffsrobotaxis
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