In a sweeping move that has sent ripples through the autonomous vehicle industry, General Motors' Cruise robotaxi unit has laid off 24% of its full-time workforce. The layoffs, equating to a significant portion of Cruise's staff, come on the heels of a tumultuous period marked by a high-profile safety investigation that prompted an executive exodus, as reported by Reuters. The probe, led by Quinn Emanuel, stems from an incident on October 2 where a pedestrian was severely injured by an autonomous Cruise vehicle in San Francisco.
The company has halted operations and pulled out its fleet from US streets to undergo a comprehensive safety review, following a mandate from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, which labeled the driverless cars a public risk and accused Cruise of misrepresenting their safety. In an internal memo, the gravity of the situation was evident: "Following an initial analysis of the October 2 incident and Cruise's response to it, nine individuals departed Cruise," with firings including Chief Operating Officer Gil West, and Senior Vice President of Government Affairs David Estrada, the memo detailed.
Recent days have seen Cruise make drastic decisions to restructure its operational strategy. Cruise's news report revealed the sobering news of staff reductions, underscoring a shift towards a more cautious and scaled-back commercialization approach. "We are simplifying and focusing our efforts to return with an exceptional service in one city to start with and focusing on the Bolt platform for this first step before we scale," Mo ElShenawy, President and CTO of Cruise, told employees in an internal letter.
Amid reassurances for a fair severance package, ElShenawy outlined the support for departing staff, "We are offering departing Cruisers pay, at minimum, through April 8, 2024 (approximately 16 weeks), plus continued subsidized health benefits, RSU vesting, the January 5 bonus, and additional immigration support for those holding work visas." The layoffs encompass operational and corporate positions, while sparing most engineering roles. The restructuring also entails pausing work on future programs like the Origin MY24, shifting the company's resource allocation toward present and more immediate technological needs.
