General Motors is laying off roughly half of the employees who remain at its now-defunct Cruise robotaxi division, months after announcing it would no longer fund the project. The Detroit-based automaker said in December it was discontinuing the self-driving ride-hail business, having poured more than $10 billion into Cruise since acquiring a majority stake in 2016.
In an emailed statement, Cruise said: "Today, Cruise shared the difficult decision to part ways with approximately 50% of its workforce. We are grateful for their passion and contributions to help us reach this stage, and our focus is on supporting them into their next chapter with severance packages and career support." As of late 2023, Cruise employed about 2,300 staff, signaling that more than 1,000 people might be impacted.
According to an internal email to employees Tuesday, Cruise President and Chief Administrative Officer Craig Glidden wrote: "As a result of the change in strategy we announced in December, today we will part with nearly 50% of our Cruise employee base, through a reduction in force." He added, "With our move away from the ride-hail business and toward providing autonomous vehicles to customers alongside GM, our staffing and resource needs have dramatically changed."
Glidden confirmed that several key executives will depart this week, including CEO Marc Whitten, Chief Human Resources Officer Nilka Thomas, Chief Safety Officer Steve Kenner, and Global Head of Public Policy Rob Grant. He said: "We are focused on combining efforts with General Motors to accelerate autonomy at scale on personal autonomous vehicles."
Key Data Points:
- Initial Cruise Workforce: ~2,300 employees before December's cutbacks.
- Spending on Cruise: Over $10 billion since GM's 2016 acquisition.
- Layoff Percentage: Approximately 50% of remaining staff.
GM also issued a press release highlighting the final step in making Cruise a wholly owned subsidiary. The automaker has shifted resources toward personal autonomous vehicles and is terminating the ride-hail program that was once considered a frontrunner in the robotaxi sector. During its most recent earnings call, GM executives indicated the move could save the company up to $1 billion annually.
The layoffs follow months of uncertainty inside Cruise, which faced intense scrutiny in October 2023 after a robotaxi struck a pedestrian who had been tossed into its path by another vehicle. When the company did not promptly disclose certain details of the incident, California regulators suspended its testing permits. Executives, including co-founder and CEO Kyle Vogt, then stepped down, and GM assigned Glidden to oversee Cruise's legal and policy matters.
Prior to GM's December announcement, Cruise was testing in multiple U.S. cities such as San Francisco, Phoenix, and Austin, and had plans to further expand. Sources familiar with the matter said staffers had been in "limbo" as they awaited decisions on retention and severance packages. "Cruise shared the difficult decision to part ways with approximately 50% of its workforce," the company reiterated, noting that employees affected were offered eight weeks of severance pay and additional coverage based on tenure.
In January, GM had extended retention offers to many Cruise engineers, but the scope and timing of an eventual workforce reduction were unknown until Tuesday's memo. Meanwhile, the automaker has stated it intends to integrate selected Cruise staff into its core engineering teams focusing on hands-free driver assistance technology, including Super Cruise and Ultra Cruise.