General Motors self-driving vehicle operations, housed in Cruise Automation, will soon see its workforce expand dramatically. The automaker has made the hiring spree official: 1,100 new jobs will be opening in San Francisco, California, to expand development of self-driving technologies.
Along with the job announcement, GM stated it will invest $14 million in the area for a new research and development center, while an old facility is transformed in the process. Over the next five years, the 1,100 jobs will be filled.
“Expanding our team at Cruise Automation and linking them with our global engineering talent is another important step in our work to redefine the future of personal mobility,” said GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra. “Self-driving technology holds enormous benefits to society in the form of increased safety and access to transportation. Running our autonomous vehicle program as a start-up is giving us the speed we need to continue to stay at the forefront of the development of these technologies and the market applications.”
The deal was struck following $8 million in tax credits from the state of California for GM Cruise to expand its operations in the Bay Area.
Cruise Automation has been busy developing its driverless car technology with a fleet of Chevrolet Bolt EVs at its disposal, scampering around San Francisco and areas in Arizona. Soon, self-driving Bolt EVs will make their way to Michigan, too.
As for when we will see GM’s driverless technology come to the public, the automaker has been adamant it will be sooner rather than later. In the meantime, the 2018 Cadillac CT6 will arrive with a completely hands-free highway driving system, Super Cruise, this fall.
Comment
Cadillac’s Super Cruise is not a ” completely hands-free highway driving system” because the driver must monitor the car while the car is monitoring the driver, and the driver must take over if there is a problem or a situation that the system cannot manage. But it seems a much better proven and safer system than the autopilot that TM offers and which has killed two Model S drivers.