GM announced its Cruise Origin van production pause after halting its all-driverless operations because of scrutiny.
This was confirmed on Monday, Nov. 6, by Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt. During the meeting, Vogt said they would stop manufacturing the automaker's purpose-built robotaxis. Because of this, many people are concerned that layoffs could follow this decision. Here are other details you need to know about the Cruise Origin production halt.
GM's Cruise Origin Van Production Pause Confirmed
A Waymo autonomous vehicle is seen reflected in a mirror as it drives along California Street on April 11, 2022 in San Francisco, California. San Francisco is serving as testing grounds for autonomous vehicles with Waymo, a Google subsidiary and Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors.
During the "all-hands" meeting, Cruise CEO Vogt addressed the questions regarding the Origin van production. He told one of the staff attending the conference that they already have more than enough for the near term when General Motors is ready to ramp things back up.
"We are finishing production on a small number of pre-commercial vehicles and after that, plan to temporarily pause production," he said via Yahoo Finance.
"We believe autonomous vehicles will transform the way people move around the world, and the Origin is an important part of the AV journey," added the GM official.
According to Tech Crunch's latest report, the decision to temporarily stop the Cruise Origin van manufacturing comes days after California regulators suspended the driverless taxi operations.
California's officials asked GM to stop operating these autonomous vehicles after a pedestrian was dragged by one of them because a human-driven car struck it.
To avoid making this matter worse, General Motors' Cruise voluntarily stopped operating all its driverless taxis in other markets as well; Houston, Austin, Phoenix, and Miami.
Cruise said that suspending its Cruise Origin cars is required to rebuild the public trust it lost. However, Vogt didn't provide other specific measures to win back the trust of regulators and consumers.
As of writing, GM's plans for its Cruise Origin driverless cars are still vague.
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Will GM Cruise Also Conduct Layoffs?
A Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle sits at an event where Fritz Henderson, CEO and President of General Motors, announced that GM will invest $43 million in Brownstown Township, Michigan to manufacture lithium-ion battery packs for the Chevrolet Volt and other extended-range electric vehicles at the GM Brownstown Battery Assembly.
Since General Motors confirmed a temporary production halt for its Cruise Origin vans, it can't be avoided if some people speculate that layoffs will follow this.
Luckily, Vogt didn't mention anything about terminating employees. However, he clarified that suspended operations usually come with layoffs.
This means that the Origin van production pause can affect GM employees. They can be terminated or temporarily grounded since they have nothing to work on.
If you are among the concerned GM Cruise staff, the best thing you can do is wait for further announcements from the automaker's officials.
Related Article: California Regulators Revoke License of Driverless Cars, Identified as Risk to Public Safety
