General Motors (GM) Cruise laid off around 24% of its workforce, affecting 900 employees following the dismissal of nine "key leaders" and suspension of robotaxi operations.
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Cruise Puts Commercialization, Safety Among Primary Focus
Prior to the announcement, the company was composed of 3,800 employees. The company also underwent a round of contractor layoffs last month. Cruise spokesperson detailed that the affected employees are primarily under the commercial operations and related corporate functions.
"These changes reflect our decision to focus on more deliberate commercialization plans with safety as our north star," the spokesperson added. Laid-off employees are entitled to a paycheck until February 12 and at least an additional eight weeks of pay, plus a severance package based on their tenure.
On the other hand, Cruise also made news after the company fired nine "key leaders" for the company's response to the October 2 incident, wherein a pedestrian was dragged by the company's robotaxi.
GM Continues Support for Cruise
Cruise's parent company, GM has voiced its continuous support of the company despite the difficult employment decisions. "We are confident in the team and committed to supporting Cruise as they set the company up for long-term success with a focus on trust, accountability, and transparency," GM shared.
According to the Cruise representative, the company is focusing on the fully driverless L4 service, as well as the relaunch of the robotaxi services in one city.
Before the October incident, there were already a few incidents that involved Cruise robotaxi services. However, the dragging incident inevitably led to the suspension of its operations.
As of writing, the company pledged to undergo reorganization and get an independent safety expert to assess the company's safety operations moving forward.
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