Self-driving car developer Cruise lays off 24% of its workforce
It has been reported that Cruise, an autonomous vehicle development company affiliated with General Motors (GM), will lay off 900 employees, representing 24% of its workforce. It is seen as part of a plan to cut costs and revamp the company.
Cruise team updates | Cruise
Cruise slashes 24% of self-driving car workforce in sweeping layoffs | TechCrunch
GM's Cruise laying off 900, or 24% of its workforce: Read the memo
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/14/gms-cruise-laying-off-900-or-24percent-of-its-workforce.html
Cruise had an accident involving a robotaxi service vehicle in San Francisco, California in October 2023. In response to this, the California Department of Transportation (DMV) completely suspended Cruise's permission to test unmanned autonomous vehicles. Since then, Cruise has decided to temporarily suspend driverless testing of self-driving cars outside of California.
Cruise announces complete suspension of unmanned driving tests for self-driving cars - GIGAZINE
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched a safety investigation into Cruise, and there were concerns about employee confusion and low morale. Meanwhile, on November 21, 2023, Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt suddenly announced his resignation. Mr. Vogt will be replaced by Mo El-Shenawy, vice president of engineering, as the company's new president and CTO.
Kyle Vogt, CEO of self-driving car developer Cruise, resigns amid internal turmoil - GIGAZINE
Cruise is undergoing a fundamental management shake-up, with nine executives in Cruise's commercial operations, legal and policy departments being fired on December 13, 2023, including Gil West. They included David Estrada, who was COO and head of government affairs.
Furthermore, on December 14, 2023, Mr. El-Shenawy, who became Cruise's new representative, sent an email to all Cruise's approximately 3,800 employees informing them that 900 employees, or approximately 24%, would be laid off. has been sent. ``We knew this day would come someday, but laying off employees does not make Cruise any less difficult,'' El-Shenawy said.
According to El-Shennawy, the latest workforce reductions include employees who worked in the field, sales departments, and employees who were seconded to other companies. Additionally, all employees were notified within one hour of receiving the email as to whether or not they were subject to this dismissal. It has been reported that almost no employees involved in engineering, Cruise's main field, were fired.
In an email, El-Shenawy said: 'We have made layoffs that will affect 24% of our workforce, but these employees are not at fault. At Cruise, we start by excelling in one city. 'We are looking to scale our business by simplifying and centralizing our efforts to deliver the same services as our customers. As a result, we are reducing the number of employees in our business and other areas.' talks about the reasons for reducing the number of employees.
A Cruise spokesperson added: ``These workforce reductions reflect our decision to focus on a more prudent commercialization plan to improve the safety of self-driving cars. provides appropriate severance and benefits support to employees who have been terminated. We would like to thank our departing employees for the important role they have played in the development of Cruise and in supporting us. ”
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