Source: AFP
US self-driving company Cruise said on Thursday it will eliminate about a quarter of its workforce as it slows commercialization to address safety concerns.
The company, a subsidiary of General Motors, informed 24 percent of its workers — or about 900 people — that they would lose their jobs after a recent layoff following a highly publicized incident in California.
Chairman Mo Elshenawy said Cruise aims to resume operations in one market “and improve our safety standards and procedures before we scale back,” according to a message to employees.
“This is very different from our previous plans to expand to more than a dozen new cities by 2024,” said Elshenawy, who came on board after co-founder Kyle Vogt left in November.
GM’s Cruise business has been on hold since Oct. 27, when it suspended operations after California halted tests of the robotaxi.
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The venture came under scrutiny after a self-driving car operated by Cruise ran over a woman who had first been struck in front of it by a driver in San Francisco.
The company has ordered independent reviews of the incident and safety and technology, GM Chief Executive Mary Barra told Wall Street analysts on Nov. 29.
Barra said the company would be “very deliberate” with the business. Company officials also revealed that they planned to spend hundreds of millions of dollars less in 2024 on cruising compared to 2023.
Pushing back on merchandising means Cruise didn’t need as many support staff in certain cities or in light of a company restructuring, Elshenawy said in the message.
The workers targeted for cuts were “largely outside of engineering, although some technology positions are also affected,” he added.
Source: AFP