Leadership purges at General Motors’ Cruise continued this week with the departure of key managers from several departments.
Reports indicate that at least nine leaders from Cruise’s commercial, legal and policy departments have been let go. Employees were notified of the changes in an internal Slack message.
The changeup comes after an internal investigation into the Oct. 2 incident where a Cruise autonomous vehicle pinned and dragged a pedestrian.
“Today, following an initial analysis of the Oct. 2 incident and Cruise’s response to it, nine individuals departed Cruise,” the company said. “As a company, we are committed to full transparency and are focused on rebuilding trust and operating with the highest standards when it comes to safety, integrity and accountability and believe that new leadership is necessary to achieve these goals.”
GM, Cruise’s parent company, echoed the sentiment in a separate release, saying the auto giant is “committed to supporting Cruise in these efforts.”
The Oct. 2 incident has jarred Cruise. After an investigation by California regulatory agencies, the self-driving firm couldn’t operate its autonomous taxis in the state. The company soon paused all operations in other states, stinging revenue.
In response, CEO and founder Kyle Vogt resigned. Then GM shook up leadership at the company, installing new executive leadership and exercising more control, plus said it would slash Cruise’s budget going into 2024.
Cruise employees are likely to feel those budget cuts. After the company halted operations last month, it announced layoffs for maintenance and cleaning staff. It remains unclear if more layoffs are coming in the wake of budget cuts.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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