Kyle Vogt, CEO and co-founder of General Motors' automated-ride-hailing Cruise, announced his departure from the company following an ongoing safety review of its US operations.
Vogt confirmed his resignation in an email to Reuters but gave little explanation for leaving the company.
The 38-year-old entrepreneur said he was grateful for his time with Cruise, stating that "the last 10 years have been amazing."
Mo Elshenawy, Cruise's executive vice president of engineering, is reported to replace Vogt as CEO.
Major Hurdles at Cruise Operations
The leadership change follows after the California Department of Motor Vehicles suspended Cruise's permit to publicly operate self-driving vehicles over a pedestrian accident last Oct. 2.
A hit-and-run involving a Cruise autonomous vehicle at a busy intersection in San Francisco ended with a pedestrian "launched" and "dragged" underneath the car for 20 feet.
The victim ultimately died after being brought to the hospital.
Cruise has previously announced the suspension of all driverless operations in the US, affecting 70 of its product lines, to "rebuild public trust."
(1/3) At approximately 9:30 pm on October 2, a human-driven vehicle struck a pedestrian while traveling in the lane immediately to the left of a Cruise AV. The initial impact was severe and launched the pedestrian directly in front of the AV.
— cruise (@Cruise) October 3, 2023
The company has already hired the help of Exponent to find the cause of the incident, promising to expand all of Cruise's safety systems and technology.
General Motors has since then taken a more active role in the company's safety culture, installing its own executives to lead.
Craig Glidden was appointed to head the Cruise's legal and policy, communications, and finance teams.
Also Read: Cruise Suspends Driverless Operations but Supervised AV Will Continue
Company Mismanagement and Low Morales
Company morale took a further hit after Cruise paused its employee share-selling program for the fourth quarter.
TechCrunch estimated that employees holding stocks in the company could lose up to $100,000 each.
Employees are blaming poor management at safety for the recent problems of the company.
Cruise has since then retracted its decision and offered a surprise company holiday for the frustrated workers.
Related Article: Cruise Will Reduce Driverless Taxis After Crashing Into a Fire Truck
