Cruise Laying Off Half Its Workforce

Cruise is laying off half of its software, the last turn of events for a once promising self-driving company that has had one setback after another.

According to an email seen by TechCrunch, Cruise President Craig Glidden informed the company’s roughly 2,100 employees of the news.

“As a result of the change in strategy we announced in December, today we will part with nearly 50% of our Cruise employee base, through a reduction in force,” the email from Glidden reads. “Anyone who has been through a reduction knows that days like this are extremely difficult, and today is no different. With our move away from the ride-hail business and toward providing autonomous vehicles to customers alongside GM, our staffing and resource needs have dramatically changed. Today’s actions align our teams to our new needs, and focus our efforts on continuing to build world-class AV technology.”

The layoffs cap a year of major changes for GM-owned Cruise. One of the company’s robotaxis was involved in a tragic accident in late 2023 in which the vehicle failed to avoid and hit a pedestrian that had already been struck by a hit-and-run driver. The company’s operational permits were rescinded in the the aftermath, over concerns about its safety.

While the Cruise eventually regained legal authorization to resume testing, the company never really recovered from the incident, and GM cut off funding in December 2024.

“GM is committed to delivering the best driving experiences to our customers in a disciplined and capital efficient manner,” said Mary Barra, chair and CEO of GM. “Cruise has been an early innovator in autonomy, and the deeper integration of our teams, paired with GM’s strong brands, scale, and manufacturing strength, will help advance our vision for the future of transportation.”

GM made it clear that Cruise personnel would be rolled into the company’s broader technical teams, but overlap was bound to be a factor. As a result, it’s not surprising the company is laying off as many employees as it is.

Given the number of companies working on self-driving tech, it’s a safe bet many of those employees will be able to find work with some of Cruise’s competitors.

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