On December 15, according to foreign media reports, on Thursday local time, Cruise, an autonomous driving subsidiary of General Motors, announced that it would lay off 900 employees, accounting for about 24% of its total number of employees (3,800).
The layoffs involved 900 employees, primarily from commercial operations and related corporate functions. Mr Cruise said the changes reflect the company's decision to focus on a more deliberate commercialisation plan, with everything guided by safety, which means less demand for commercial operations and company personnel.
In October of this year, a Cruise car crashed into and dragged a pedestrian while driving in driverless mode, dragging him 6 meters, causing the pedestrian to suffer serious injuries. Subsequently, California banned the company's self-driving vehicles from driving on public roads. Shortly thereafter, Cruise ceased all testing operations in the United States.
Cruise's chief executive, Kyle Vogt, announced his resignation last month. Cruise then fired nine executives, including the heads of legal, affairs, commercial operations, and security and systems, including the company's chief operating officer, Jill West, and chief legal officer, Jeff Bleit. 