Cruise begins layoffs as drone use in the US is suspended

Cruise, a division of General Motors, has begun laying off staff due to the shutdown of all drone car operations and loss of permits in San Francisco.

Here's What We Know

On Thursday, Cruise laid off temporary workers who keep its fleet of robot taxis running. The cuts affected workers who maintained the drones, charged them and performed other tasks, according to a company spokesperson.

Cruise did not disclose the number of temporary employees. The company has about 4,000 permanent employees.

Earlier this month, company CEO Kyle Vogt announced the impending layoffs at a general meeting. He noted that one of the reasons was the suspension of drone operations.

This followed an incident in October when a Cruise robot taxi dragged an injured pedestrian. After that, California authorities revoked the company's licence to use drones in San Francisco.

Cruise soon suspended operations with a limited number of robotaxis in other cities.

Go Deeper:

• Cruise is recalling 950 unmanned vehicles after one of them dragged a pedestrian it hit on the road
• GM discontinues Cruise Origin robotaxi due to suspension of drone operations in the US
• In San Francisco, a car hit a pedestrian and threw him under the wheels of a Cruise robot car
• California bans Cruise drone testing after crashes and allegations of data hiding
• Cruise suspends robotaxi operations in the US after losing its licence in California

Source: TechCrunch