Just last week, GM made the surprise announcement that it would no longer pursue development of fully autonomous robotaxis, instead refocusing Cruise, its autonomous driving technology division, on the development of autonomous driving technology for personal vehicles. The move was met with praise by industry analysts, and is expected to save GM roughly $1 billion annually. Now, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters labor union, better known simply as the Teamsters, has issued a statement on the issue, arguing that regulatory agencies should hold autonomous vehicle companies accountable.

 

“With its decision to cut funding for Cruise AV development, GM is finally acknowledging what the general public already knows: robotaxis are not safe,” said Teamsters Western Region International Vice President and president of Teamsters Joint Council 7, Peter Finn. “This has been blindingly obvious ever since Cruise robotaxis ran over pedestrians, blocked first responders from doing their jobs, nearly collided with a seven-year-old boy, and caused traffic pileups on multiple occasions.”