Cruise Lays Off Fleet Support Staff Following Robotaxi Permit Suspensions
Cruise initiates layoffs of contingent workers who support its driverless fleet after pausing all unattended operations. The job cuts follow the suspension of the company's permits due to a disturbing incident in San Francisco.
Cruise begins laying off contingent workers who support its driverless fleet, including staff responsible for cleaning, charging, maintaining vehicles, and handling customer support. The GM-owned self-driving car subsidiary makes this move after pausing all of its unattended robotaxi operations and losing key commercial permits in San Francisco. Vendors employ these affected workers and will make their own determinations regarding severance packages.
CEO Kyle Vogt announces the upcoming layoffs during an all-hands meeting on Monday, though the actual job cuts happen sooner than the three-week timeline he initially suggests. An internal message explains that driverless operations are "deprioritized" as the company shifts its focus to supervised driving for the time being. Cruise currently employs about 4,000 full-time employees but refuses to share the exact number of contingent workers impacted by this reduction.
These layoffs stem from a series of recent missteps that culminate in the California DMV suspending Cruise's driverless vehicle permit after a troubling October 2 incident. During that event, a human driver initially strikes a pedestrian, who then lands in the adjacent lane and gets trapped under a Cruise robotaxi. The autonomous vehicle stops on top of the woman but then attempts to pull over, dragging her 20 feet and prompting the California Public Utilities Commission to also pull the company's permit to charge for rides.