General Motors’ autonomous technology division, Cruise, has decided to terminate its share cash-out programme for employees in the fourth quarter. The decision comes in the aftermath of an accident that led to the suspension of Cruise’s self-driving vehicle operations.
The equity programme was introduced last year. This initiative allows both current and former employees to sell their vested equity to GM and other investors on a quarterly basis.
In an official mail, Kyle Vogt, CEO, Cruise, conveyed that the company will reassess the employee-equity programme due to the suspension, which has resulted in a delay in the commercialisation and revenue-generation timelines, as reported by Reuters.
Additionally, General Motors (GM) and Cruise are collaborating to determine the structure of competitive compensation packages for Cruise moving forward.
In November, California regulators ordered Cruise to withdraw its autonomous vehicles from state roads, citing concerns about public safety and accusing the company of misrepresenting the technology’s safety. The regulators asserted that Cruise had not fully disclosed all video footage related to a 2 October accident in which a pedestrian was dragged by one of Cruise’s cars in San Francisco.
Reverting on these statements, Cruise reported that it presented the California Department of Motor Vehicles with the full video footage of the accident on numerous occasions and also furnished a copy to officials. Subsequently, the company also initiated an internal examination of both the response to regulators and the company’s automated driving system.
The email also mentioned that Cruise intends to advance a bonus payout to January 2024 instead of March.