In the wake of a mass layoff at San Francisco-based Cruise driverless vehicles, public outcry on Thursday called for the ouster of a CPUC official and the prosection of former and current executives at the General Motors-owned company.
Protesters at the California Public Utilities Commission office in San Francisco were demanding the ouster of commissioner John Reynolds, who was once a lawyer for Cruise.
The rally started at about 10 a.m. on McAllister and Van Ness streets and was headed inside to the CPUC hearing. The protesters also were calling for the prosecution of Cruise executives amidst an ongoing safety investigation into an October incident involving one of the company's robotaxis.
On Thursday, CNBC confirmed that Cruise was laying off 900 employees, or 24% of its workforce. The layoff announcement came a day after nine key executives left the company.
In an email sent to employees, Cruise says it is "slowing down commercialization, simplifying and focusing efforts to return with an exceptional service in one city before scaling."
The cuts mostly will come in operations and outside of engineering, but some technical positions may still be impacted, the company says.
Earlier this year, Cruise had plans to expand to more than a dozen new cities in 2024. It also was developing a larger robotaxi specifically geared towards servicing the disabled community. All those plans came to a halt starting in October following an accident in San Francisco where a pedestrian was struck by a driver then thrown into the path of a Cruise robotaxi.
The DMV found the driverless Cruise car stopped after hitting the pedestrian but then later attempted to pull over, dragging the victim several feet.
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The DMV also accused the company of misleading investigators by not disclosing the full video of the accident initially. The DMV suspended Cruise operations on the roads in October.
Departing Cruise employees will be paid at minimum through April 2024, in addition to receiving other bonuses and benefits, the company says.
