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In GM's third-quarter earnings update, the company said it had lost roughly $1.9 billion on Cruise through September of this year. GM has lost $8.2 billion on Cruise since 2017 but expects to lose much less going forward. In a recent call with investors, the automaker didn’t share specific cash reductions, but chief financial officer Paul Jacobson said it would likely amount to “hundreds of millions” of dollars. This is one of the hardest days we've had so far because so many talented people are leaving.
Struggling Cruise Cuts About 25 Percent of Its Workers
The cuts included those who help with cleaning vehicles, fleet charging and fielding customer support inquiries. Cruise used all-electric Chevy Bolt vehicles, which have been specifically manufactured to support its self-driving system, in its robotaxi fleet. The company intended to shift toward a custom-built autonomous vehicle called the Origin.
Cruise, GM’s self-driving unit, lays off 8 percent of staff
The accident — and its fallout — have called into question the future of the tech and auto industry’s pursuit of self-driving cars. Since Google started working on the first autonomous vehicle more than a decade ago, dozens of companies have poured tens of billions of dollars into building software and persuading regulators to permit testing on roads around the country. 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. 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. The cuts occurred throughout the company, including recruiting, design, product, and business strategy, The Information reported.
GM’s Cruise slashes more than 900 jobs after recalling robotaxis
A barrage of safety concerns and incidents have plagued Cruise self-driving car, since it received approval in August for round-the-clock robotaxi service in San Francisco. It’s been a tumultuous seven years since GM first announced its plan to acquire Cruise with the goal of rapidly commercializing the technology. The company has scored some significant victories in recent months, including a vote in California to allow it to operate its driverless robotaxi service 24/7 — only to see most of that progress evaporate after a series of errors have exposed major problems with Cruise’s management. Those who were laid off will remain on payroll through February 12th and are eligible for an additional eight weeks of pay. Long-term employees are being offered an additional two weeks’ pay per every year at Cruise over three years.
Cruise Ends Stock Buybacks For Employees Amid Ongoing Safety Crisis
These impacts are largely outside of engineering, although some Tech positions are impacted also. As you might have learned, yesterday, we took action to part ways with several SLT members. Cruise, the GM self-driving car subsidiary, has started laying off contingent workers after pausing all of it driverless operations and losing key commercial permits that allowed it to operate a robotaxi service in San Francisco. The company got the go-ahead to expand its driverless ride services in San Francisco back in August then cut back its operations by 50% barely more than a week later after several incidents involving its vehicles. In October, Cruise lost its permit in California entirely after an incident in which a pedestrian was dragged beneath one of its driverless vehicles 20 feet after it ran her over after she was first struck by a different car.
Cruise robotaxis in crisis: Layoffs, recall, and algorithm found to have blind spot for kids
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 announced a round of layoffs Thursday affecting contract workers who worked on its driverless ridehailing service, CNBC has learned.
New boss at SF's Cruise mourns low morale while planning layoffs, report says - SFGATE
New boss at SF's Cruise mourns low morale while planning layoffs, report says.
Posted: Wed, 06 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
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. 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.
Learning the Ropes: How to Prevent Data Theft by Employees
Cruise has said it will eventually relaunch its driverless ridehail operations in just one city. 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. The embattled self-driving car subsidiary of General Motors faces an uncertain future after California regulators shut down its robot taxi service in the state. Like Norwegian, Cunard has limited the number of guests and canceled sailings aboard its Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria ships, blaming the "wider impact of COVID-19" on its difficulties with hiring.
Cruise begins layoffs, starting with workers who supported driverless operations - TechCrunch
Cruise begins layoffs, starting with workers who supported driverless operations.
Posted: Thu, 09 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
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 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. Cruise did not respond to Insider's request for comment on the potential layoffs of full time employees. Like on-land hospitality companies, cruise lines haven't been immune to worker shortages" amid the Great Resignation. And now, a lack of available cruise workers has begun affecting itineraries and onboard amenities.
GM’s driverless car subsidiary has announced a round of layoffs this week, with the CEO Kyle Vogt reportedly telling employees in an all-hands meeting. Plus, investigations have dredged up some incriminating news that the software’s algorithm had trouble detecting children. Since the GM Cruise accident, its self-driving car robotaxi fleet has been grounded, pending the results of independent safety probes; its leadership has been gutted.
Unfortunately, given the scale of this change, this approach allows us to communicate to those who are impacted at the same time. We know you will want to say goodbye to your colleagues, so you will have access to Cruise email and Zoom for the next couple of hours (until 10am PT). General Motors' Cruise on Thursday announced internally that it will lay off 900 employees, or 24% of its workforce, the company confirmed to CNBC. Also among the cuts, according to Bloomberg, was Prashanthi Raman, Cruise’s vice president of government affairs. Raman was featured in a promotional video last year where she rode around San Francisco in a Cruise robotaxi alongside former Mayor Willie Brown. Many rank-and-file employees were blindsided by much of the news that came out of the dragging incident and the reports about the company hiding the footage, according to the employee, who asked to remain anonymous because of fears of retaliation.
There may not be an immediate relief in sight, but a Cunard spokesperson has told Insider that these "necessary" cancellations and capacity issues will be "short term." The layoffs at Cruise may come as a surprise, though, given the company’s success at raising money. That has been pared back to relaunching its robotaxis in a single, yet-to-be-determined market.
General Motors, which announced it would be cutting spending on the self-driving car company by “hundreds of millions of dollars,” has been in the process of clearing out much of Cruise’s leadership. These positions spanned departments including software development, marketing, recruiting, accounting and operations. Wrapping up the meeting, Vogt and other executives tried to exude confidence that the company would bounce back. “We knew this day was coming, but that does not make it any less difficult—especially for those whose jobs are affected,” he wrote. Now leading the company is General Motors General Counsel Craig Glidden, who is serving as co-president with Cruise Chief Technology Officer Mo Elshenawy.
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