Cruise workers are starting to feel the impact of budget cuts.
In further bad news for the embattled autonomous taxi company, Cruise announced it will lay off 900 employees, which is 24% of its staff.
Workers were informed of the layoffs on Thursday morning via an email from new President Mo Elshenawy. Employees will find out the fate of their jobs an hour after the announcement.
“We are simplifying and focusing our efforts to return with an exceptional service in one city to start with and focusing on the Bolt platform for this first step before we scale,” Mr. Elshenawy wrote.
The layoffs are primarily in the commercial and corporate areas of Cruise’s operations, rather than in engineering. General Motors, the parent company, has emphasized development and safety.
“These changes reflect our decision to focus on more deliberate commercialization plans, with safety as our north star,” the company said. “We are supporting impacted employees with strong severance and benefits packages, and we are grateful to the departing employees who played important roles in building Cruise and supporting our mission.”
All laid-off employees will be paid through February, with some eligible for an additional eight weeks of pay. Long-time employees will also receive extended benefits through May.
The firings come one day after the company announced a major shakeup in management, with the departure of nine executives following an internal investigation into the company’s loss of ability to operate self-driving vehicles in California.
After an incident on October 2, where a Cruise autonomous taxi pinned and dragged a pedestrian, regulatory bodies in California revoked Cruise’s permits to operate its cars in the state.
In the aftermath, co-founder and CEO Kyle Vogt resigned, and GM replaced many of Cruise’s leadership and gained more control over the company.
GM has also announced that it will reduce the Cruise budget, which likely contributed to this week’s layoffs.