Cruise, the autonomous driving subsidiary of General Motors, has confirmed they were laying off 900 employees last week amid mounting criticism that a state utilities commissioner had previously worked for the company.
John Reynolds, a former lawyer for the company, was reappointed to the California Public Utilities Commission by Gov. Gavin on Dec. 22 of last year, drawing criticism from protesters who marched toward a CPUC meeting Thursday last week, calling for Reynolds’ ouster.
Last month, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union also called on Reynolds to resign, citing safety concerns and conflicts of interests.
“Today, we are making staff reductions that will affect 24 percent of full-time Cruisers, through no fault of their own,” Cruise president and chief technology officer Mo Elshenawy said in a letter to employees.
Earlier this year, Cruise paused operations after the California Department of Motor Vehicles suspended their deployment of driverless cars in San Francisco.
The DMV said the vehicles were deemed “not safe for the public’s operation” and that the manufacturer “misrepresented” information related to their safety.
A hit-and-run driver in the area of Market and Fifth streets hit a woman crossing a street against a red light, knocking her into the path of a Cruise vehicle on Oct. 2. The company said the vehicle detected a collision and came to a stop, but then tried to pull over to avoid further road safety issues and pulled the woman forward about 20 feet.
The company responded to the DMV’s move on social media, saying it wanted to rebuild public trust.
The company said Thursday that those who were laid off will continue to receive their benefits until April of next year.