Cruise has temporarily halted production of its purpose-built robotaxi, The Origin, the latest setback for the self-driving vehicle company amid the suspension of operations and increased scrutiny from regulators.
Forbes The news was first reported citing audio of Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt’s speech at an all-hands meeting on Monday. TechCrunch confirmed the news through sources who spoke to us on the condition of anonymity.
The decision to temporarily halt production on Origin, which was first revealed in January 2020, comes after California regulators halted Cruise’s operations in the state after… I learned that a pedestrian was dragged by a cruise vehicle after being struck by a vehicle driven by a human.
Cruise has voluntarily halted all self-driving operations in its other markets, including Phoenix, Austin, Houston, and most recently in Miami, in order to “rebuild public trust.”
People listening to the all-hands meeting expressed some frustration, noting that Vogt did not provide answers (or was vague) to questions about how the company plans to regain public and employee trust and why it did not pause the fleet sooner.
According to a Forbes report, Vogt addressed Cruise’s decision to halt driverless operations, telling employees that “since a lot of this is in flux, we have made the decision with GM to pause production at Origin.”
Vogt apparently did not mention the layoffs at his all-hands meeting. However, during a meeting the previous week, Vogt indicated to employees that the layoffs may come amid the suspension of operations, according to the British newspaper “Daily Mail”. The New York Times. With the news of the pause at Origin, future layoffs will likely impact both employees working in operations who are now essentially on hiatus, and those working on Origin development.
In September, Vogt claimed that Cruise was “just days away” from receiving the necessary approval to mass-produce Origin. That approval has not yet come, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not shared further details on the matter.
Built without a steering wheel or pedals, the boxy Cruze — jointly developed by GM, Cruze and Honda — is a key part of the company’s strategy to expand “exponentially” in cities across the United States, and even the world. Cruise began testing its Origins on public roads in Austin earlier this year, and has made plans to launch an Origin-based robotaxi service in Dubai and Japan.
Sources told TechCrunch that Cruise owns hundreds of Origin vehicles. The fleet will be “more than adequate in the near term when we’re ready to ramp things up again,” Vogt said, according to Forbes.
Cruz did not immediately respond to a request for comment.