Table Of Content
- Cruise Ends Stock Buybacks For Employees Amid Ongoing Safety Crisis
- Company says it now will focus on just 1 market for driverless taxis before scaling up
- Tracey Franklin on Building an Engine of Innovation Through Talent
- GM Cruise Layoffs Affecting Almost 24% of the Workforce
- Cruise self-driving car suspension
- Cruise lays off nearly a quarter of its staff after grounding its robotaxi fleet
- GM's Cruise slashes contractor roles after driverless car suspension
As the Free Press reported, on Oct. 2 in San Francisco, a Nissan Sentra hit a pedestrian, pushing her into the path of an oncoming Cruise driverless car. The car then proceeded to drive 20 feet at 7 mph to the curb, dragging the woman and leaving her critically injured. "When there is an unreasonable risk to public safety, the DMV can immediately suspend or revoke permits," the California DMV said in a statement.
Cruise Ends Stock Buybacks For Employees Amid Ongoing Safety Crisis
California regulators have alleged that Cruise covered up how bad the October crash was – which could result in a potential penalty of roughly $1.5m. The robotaxi service is also being investigated by US auto safety regulators after separately receiving reports of potential risks to pedestrians and passengers. Cruise told CNBC that the layoffs are reflective of its current supervised driving operations, adding that the company plans to resume driverless service but that it does not have a specific timeline to share. But GM isn’t ready to pull back completely from self-driving technology like some of its competitors. In an interview in Washington, DC, yesterday, Barra said that fully driverless cars will scale faster than a lot of people think.
Company says it now will focus on just 1 market for driverless taxis before scaling up
The company will also “prioritize” the Chevy Bolt platform it uses for its fleet, indicating that production of its Origin shuttle without steering wheel and pedals will remain indefinitely paused. “We knew this day was coming, but that does not make it any less difficult—especially for those whose jobs are affected,” he wrote. That followed California's suspension of Cruise's permit to operate driverless vehicles in October. In a few moments, you will receive an email letting you know whether or not you are affected by this staffing reduction. If you are impacted, you will get details about what happens next in a subsequent email. General Motors' Cruise on Thursday announced internally that it will lay off 900 employees, or 24% of its workforce, the company confirmed to CNBC.
Tracey Franklin on Building an Engine of Innovation Through Talent
GM's Cruise laying off 900 employees, or 24% of its workforce: Read the memo here - CNBC
GM's Cruise laying off 900 employees, or 24% of its workforce: Read the memo here.
Posted: Thu, 14 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
This is one of the hardest days we've had so far because so many talented people are leaving. I'm thankful we had the chance to work together, and I know I speak on behalf of so many Cruisers who will be reaching out to those departing to help with our professional networks and references. On behalf of the SLT, the Cruise Board and GM, I'm truly grateful to everyone who has played a role in building Cruise and who has poured so much into the promise of making our roads safer and our world better. What's nextAs mentioned, in a few moments, you will receive an email letting you know whether or not you are affected by this staffing reduction, and if you are impacted, you will get details about what happens next.
GM Cruise Layoffs Affecting Almost 24% of the Workforce
Our message to other employers in the market is that each departing Cruiser is a talented, driven, and mission-focused team member who will contribute and achieve great things elsewhere. Other companies will be privileged to have these professionals on their teams, as we were privileged to have them here during their time at Cruise. We knew this day was coming, but that does not make it any less difficult—especially for those whose jobs are affected. Cruise could face $1.5 million in fines and additional sanctions over its failure to disclose details surrounding the accident, a California agency has said. As part of their total compensation, Cruise employees would receive some cash salary and also would receive another portion as company stock.
Cruise self-driving car suspension
Interestingly, the post said that the company is looking to hire a chief safety officer and is bringing on law firm Quinn Emmanuel, which has worked with Elon Musk, to review its response to the October pedestrian incident in San Francisco. Since purchasing Cruise in 2016 for $1 billion, General Motors has been hemorrhaging money. From January to September, GM lost $1.9 billion on Cruise expenses between January and September this year, in addition to a $732 million loss in the third quarter.
Cruise lays off nearly a quarter of its staff after grounding its robotaxi fleet
The GM Cruise layoffs, which primarily affected commercial operations and related corporate functions, are the latest turmoil for the robotaxi startup. This come one day after Cruise dismissed nine “key leaders” for the company’s response to an Oct 2 accident in which a pedestrian was dragged 20 feet by a Cruise self-driving car after being struck by another vehicle. "We know there’s no 'good' way to lay off employees, but treating people fairly on their way out was a key principle that guided our approach," Elshenawy wrote. "We are offering departing Cruisers pay, at minimum, through April 8, 2024 (approximately 16 weeks), plus continued subsidized health benefits, RSU (restricted stock units) vesting, the January 5 bonus, and additional immigration support for those holding work visas." GM and the Cruise board have been scrambling ever since the October 2 incident put the company in the crosshairs of state, local and federal agencies. However, Cruise’s robotaxi operations in San Francisco had been criticized by the public and city officials almost immediately after the California Public Utilities Commission issued the company in August the final permit required to operate commercially.
Cruise opted to stop all its operations nationwide and recall all of its 950 self-driving modified Chevrolet Bolt cars. It has hired a third party to conduct a review of the incident and Cruise's response to it. Cruise announced it would be pausing driverless operations for a review by independent experts and later recalled all 950 of its cars to update software. The letter said they would stay on the payroll through 12 February and are eligible for another eight weeks of pay. Long-term employees will get another two weeks of pay for every year at the company over three years, the letter said.
In a statement Thursday, GM spokeswoman Aimee Ridella said GM supports the difficult employment decisions made by Cruise as it focuses on safety improvements. The reduction is necessary, Cruise leaders said, as the company looks to improve safety by slowing down its commercial growth going forward. “This is one of the hardest days we’ve had so far because so many talented people are leaving,” ElShenawy wrote. Cruise has said it will eventually relaunch its driverless ridehail operations in just one city.
Cruise lays off nearly a quarter of its staff after grounding its robotaxi fleet - The Verge
Cruise lays off nearly a quarter of its staff after grounding its robotaxi fleet.
Posted: Thu, 14 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
General Motors has absorbed huge losses during the development of the driverless service that was supposed to generate $1bn in revenue by 2025, with plans to expand beyond San Francisco. Many of you will be impacted because we aren't commercializing as quickly, and therefore don't need support in certain cities or facilities. We didn't take any of these decisions lightly, though I know that isn't much of a consolation if you're someone affected by the actions we are taking today. In November, Cruise said it would eventually re-launch in one unspecified city before expanding. Previously, Cruise had touted ambitious plans to expand to more cities, offering fully autonomous taxi rides. The so-called “Recurring Liquidity Opportunity,” or RLO, was implemented in the wake of the departure of Cruise’s previous CEO.
Cruise, the embattled self-driving car subsidiary of General Motors, said on Thursday that it would eliminate about 900 jobs, roughly a quarter of its work force, as the company looked to rein in costs after an October incident led California regulators to shut down its robot taxi operations. The layoffs come just a day after nine senior leaders (SLT) at Cruise, who worked in its commercial operations, legal and policy departments, were dismissed by the company’s board. COO Gil West and David Estrada, who was head of government affairs, were among that group. Dec. 14 (UPI) -- On Thursday, the GM-owned Cruise driverless taxi startup told its employees in an email and blog post that 24% of full-time Cruise workers will be laid off. A barrage of safety concerns and incidents have plagued Cruise, majority-owned by GM, since it received approval in August for round-the-clock robotaxi service in San Francisco.
For GM, that includes slashing spending at Cruise “by hundreds of millions of dollars” in 2024, an action that most expected would result in widespread layoffs. The cuts at Cruise add to a tumultuous fall for the robotaxi company, which until recently was ,along with Alphabet’s Waymo. California regulators in October suspended Cruise’s permit to operate in San Francisco—home to its longest-running test bed—as they alleged the company failed to disclose details of a crash that sent a pedestrian to the hospital with serious injuries.
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