Following an initial internal investigation into the October 2 incident in which a pedestrian became caught beneath and then pulled by one of GM’s self-driving car subsidiary’s robotaxis, nine Cruise managers and executives have departed the company.
Employees were informed of the departures via an internal Slack message. Erik Moser, a cruise representative, acknowledged the departures and issued a statement, but would not comment on whether these workers were dismissed. David Estrada, who left autonomous car company Nuro in July to head up Cruise’s government relations department, and COO Gil West were among those let go, according to Eltrys. West’s LinkedIn page has subsequently been modified to reflect that his job has terminated.
“Today, nine people left Cruise following an initial investigation into the October 2 incident and Cruise’s response to it.” Key executives from Legal, Government Affairs, and Commercial Operations, as well as Safety and Systems, are among them. We are dedicated to complete openness as a firm and are focused on restoring confidence and operating with the greatest standards when it comes to safety, honesty, and accountability, and we think that new leadership is required to accomplish these objectives.”
The Cruise Board did the first study, which is separate from the Quinn Emmanuel inquiry, which has yet to be revealed.
The departures come three weeks after co-founder and CEO Kyle Vogt resigned and less than two months after the California Department of Motor Vehicles suspended Cruise’s permits to operate self-driving vehicles on public roads following an October 2 incident in which a pedestrian was run over and dragged 20 feet by the AV after being hit by a human-driven car and landing in the path of a Cruise robotaxi. A video obtained by Eltrys a day after the incident shows the robotaxi forcefully braking and coming to a halt over the lady. According to the DMV’s suspension decision, Cruise concealed around seven seconds of camera evidence showing the robotaxi trying to pull over and then dragging the victim 20 feet.
Employee morale at Cruise has been low since the October 2 tragedy, with workers blaming weak management for failing to prioritize safety at the corporation. Due to a lack of commercial licenses in San Francisco and an internal decision to halt its autonomous fleets in other states, the business fired off contract workers, exacerbating the situation.
Contract workers who cleaned, charged, and maintained cars as well as answered customer support concerns were among the first to be let off. Not all third-party-employed contingent workers were laid off. This month, further layoffs of full-time staff are likely.
