The challenges at General Motors’ robotaxi business, Cruise, seem to be intensifying. In an effort to improve safety and rebuild public trust, the company has recently undergone a significant personnel shake-up.
Cruise has confirmed that nine employees have left the company as part of its ongoing investigation into an incident on October 2nd. This incident resulted in a pedestrian being injured. The departing employees include key leaders from various departments, including legal, government affairs, commercial operations, and safety.
This latest development follows the initial inquiry into the incident, which led to Cruise’s suspension of its operating license in California. As previously reported, a person was dragged several feet under a Cruise taxi before the vehicle came to a stop.
In response, Cruise has temporarily halted all driverless and manual operations. The company has also committed to conducting a thorough safety review with the assistance of third-party consultants.
The outcome of these investigations will be of great importance to GM Chief Executive Mary Barra. She has stated that the company will determine the next steps for Cruise once the investigation is complete.
GM has previously projected that Cruise could achieve annual sales of $50 billion by 2030.
Executive Departures Shake Up Cruise Leadership Team
Several high-ranking executives have recently left Cruise, the autonomous vehicle division of General Motors. The departures include David Estrada, a senior vice president of government affairs, Jeff Bleich, Cruise’s chief legal and policy officer, and Chief Operating Officer Gil West. West, a former Delta Air Lines executive, was brought in to oversee Cruise’s commercial operations.
These departures come in the wake of CEO and co-founder Kyle Vogt’s resignation last month, followed by co-founder Daniel Kan. While Cruise has not disclosed the reasons for these departures, the company is determined to move forward with transparency and integrity.
In its efforts to rebuild trust, Cruise plans to restart its driverless operations in one city initially. However, a specific timeline for this relaunch has not been provided.
The news of executive shake-ups has had a minor impact on the stock market. General Motors (GM) saw a 0.3% increase in stock price before opening on Thursday, while Ford rose 0.3% and Tesla climbed 1.1%.