General Motors’ Cruise self-driving unit’s head of hardware, Carl Jenkins, has become the latest high-level executive to depart from the robo-taxi unit. He left after spending a good six years with the company. His team was responsible for deploying hardware at the robo-taxi firm, including microchips, sensors and computers. He also worked with GM on product development side.
His departure was confirmed by Cruise Co-President Mo Elshenawy in an internal company post viewed by Reuters. He added the autonomous vehicles platforms team was critical to Cruise’s efforts to return its vehicles back to the road as soon as possible. However, no reason was ascertained for Jenkins’ departure from the company. “I recognize that this came as unexpected news. While we’re in a transitional period right now, all of us here at Cruise are getting to define what comes next – that’s an incredibly exciting place to be,” Elshenawy wrote in the internal message.
Another spokesperson from Cruise confirmed Jenkins’ departure. “We remain committed to our hardware and systems development in the Bolt and Origin platforms,” the spokesperson told Reuters, referring to Cruise’s self-driving vehicles.
Many departures have happened since the company suspended its US operations in October after one of its robo-taxis got involved in a pedestrian accident. A person, after being hit by another vehicle, was thrown into the path of a self-driving car, and dragged for about 20 feet.
In the aftermath of the accident, California suspended the company’s permit for driverless vehicles, and Cruise pulled all its US self-driving vehicles from testing. The unit’s then-CEO, Kyle Vogt, and co-founder Dan Kan became the first to resign in November.
Recently, Steve Kenner joined the company as the Chief Safety Officer of the robotaxi unit. He will be tasked with overseeing Cruise’s safety management systems and operations, marking a pivotal moment for the company as it navigates critical safety challenges. His arrival is significant as the company has gone through a series of safety-related incidents that have cast a shadow over the company’s operations.