Cruise is cutting approximately 900 jobs, constituting a 24% reduction in its workforce. This decision follows a notable San Francisco incident over ten weeks ago.
Laying Off Cruise Employees
Cruise has officially announced a reduction in its workforce, impacting roughly 24 percent of its employees, totaling approximately 900 individuals. A spokesperson from Cruise conveyed details about the workforce reduction, as reported by Engadget.
The decision comes in the aftermath of a significant incident in San Francisco over ten weeks ago, where a Cruise vehicle was involved in an accident resulting in a pedestrian being pinned and dragged following an initial collision with another car.
Notably, earlier this week, the company underwent substantial changes in its executive team, parting ways with nine high-ranking officials, including the chief operating officer.
The communication outlined the company's focus on deliberate commercialization plans with safety as a top priority. The workforce adjustments predominantly affect commercial operations and related corporate functions.
Cruise expressed its commitment to supporting the impacted employees through comprehensive severance and benefits packages, expressing gratitude for the departing individuals who played vital roles in the company's development and mission.
Joining a growing list of tech industry job cuts in 2023, approximately 900 employees at Cruise will be facing unemployment.
The email specifies that the layoffs are primarily concentrated in non-engineering roles, affecting field workers, commercial operations, and corporate staffing.
The communication outlines the company's strategy of simplification and focus, aiming to deliver an exceptional service initially in one city.
The emphasis will be on the Bolt platform for this initial phase before scaling up. Consequently, the email mentions the reduction in employee counts in operations and other related areas to align with the streamlined and focused approach.
An internal email from Cruise's new President and CTO Mo Elshenawy addresses the anticipated but challenging decision to reduce the workforce. Elshenawy acknowledges the difficulty of the situation, particularly for those directly impacted by the job cuts.
Anticipated Layoffs
The recent revelation doesn't come as a surprise. TechCrunch reported that GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra outlined Cruise's intention to adopt a more deliberate approach, which includes significant expense reductions by hundreds of millions of dollars" in 2024.
This signaled a clear indication that substantial layoffs were on the horizon.
The unfortunate incident on October 2 involved a Cruise vehicle pinning a pedestrian following a hit-and-run by another car.
Notably, the autonomous vehicle (AV) had no passengers on board at the time. A bystander who attempted to assist, recounted the distressing scene to the SF Chronicle, describing the victim's screams.
In response to this incident, the aftermath has been swift and resolute, leading to the suspension of Cruise's driverless permits by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) due to safety concerns.
There have also been reports suggesting that the company's AVs faced challenges in effectively detecting children, a situation that demands additional precautions.
