In a major blow to General Motors' self-driving car subsidiary, Cruise, the company announced on Thursday that it would be cutting approximately 900 jobs, which accounts for about a quarter of its workforce. The move comes as Cruise seeks to reduce costs following an incident in October that prompted California regulators to shut down its robot taxi operations.

The majority of the job cuts will be in corporate and commercial roles, which have become less crucial since the company voluntarily suspended all driverless operations across the country in October. This suspension came just two days after California's Department of Motor Vehicles accused Cruise of “misrepresenting” its technology and ordered it to cease operations in the state.

The troubles for Cruise began with a crash on October 2, when one of its driverless taxis hit a woman at an intersection in San Francisco, flinging her into the path of another vehicle. The Cruise car dragged the woman for about 20 feet before finally coming to a stop, causing severe injuries. Regulators later accused Cruise of omitting footage of the incident from a video it provided to state officials, further exacerbating the situation.

The aftermath of the accident has not only raised concerns about the future of self-driving cars but has also cast doubt on the entire tech and auto industry's pursuit of autonomous vehicles. Over the past decade, numerous companies, including Google, have invested billions of dollars in developing software and convincing regulators to allow testing on public roads.

The recent layoffs at Cruise are just the latest in a series of turmoil for the robotaxi startup. Just one day prior to the job cuts, the company dismissed nine "key leaders" for their handling of the October accident. Additionally, about a month ago, Cruise laid off contract workers. The company had a total of 3,800 employees before these recent layoffs.

In response to the layoffs, a Cruise spokesperson stated that they were primarily focused on reducing the workforce in commercial operations and related corporate functions. The spokesperson emphasized that safety remains their top priority and that they are providing strong severance and benefits packages to the impacted employees.

General Motors expressed support for Cruise's decision to lay off employees, stating that it reflects the company's commitment to a more deliberate and safety-focused path forward. The automotive giant also reiterated its confidence in the Cruise team and its dedication to supporting the company's long-term success.

Cruise has been plagued by a series of safety concerns and incidents since it received approval in August to provide round-the-clock robotaxi service in San Francisco. The investigations were triggered by the October accident in which a pedestrian was dragged by a Cruise self-driving car after being struck by another vehicle. As a result, Cruise's robotaxi fleet has been grounded, its leadership has undergone significant changes, production of a new robotaxi has been halted, hundreds of vehicles have been recalled, and both local and federal government investigations have been initiated.

The company's deployment and testing permits for its autonomous vehicles were suspended last month after a board meeting at Cruise's headquarters. Along with the suspension, Cruise announced a reorganization, increased oversight from GM, the hiring of an independent safety expert, and an expanded investigation into its technology and safety systems by Exponent, an engineering consulting firm.

As of now, Exponent's investigation is still ongoing, and Cruise's robotaxi fleet remains grounded while awaiting the results of the independent safety probes. The future of self-driving cars hangs in the balance as both regulators and the industry grapple with the implications of the October accident and its aftermath.