Cruise, the self-driving car company owned by General Motors, has confirmed the resignation of its co-founder and chief product officer Daniel Kan. This comes after the resignation of the company’s CEO Kyle Vogt. Kan announced his departure over Slack, but the reasoning has not been disclosed by the company.
The executive reshuffling follows a public relations nightmare after one of Cruise’s vehicles hit a pedestrian in San Francisco, leading GM to conduct a safety probe and suspend vehicle operations. The company’s image has suffered since the accident, and a number of vehicles had to be recalled. The California DMV also suspended Cruises’ driverless permits.
In a recent tweet, Cruise stated that it is working to rebuild public trust. However, an expose revealed that the company knew its self-driving cars have trouble recognizing children and bicycles. The former CEO also indicated that the company would have to lay off employees in a memo.
Cruise has not made any statements about finding replacements for either its CEO or chief product officer. Instead, General Motors has appointed two new members to the company board and Mo Elshenawy, Cruise’s executive vice president of engineering, will take up the role of President.
