GM Seeks to Hire Back Former Employees for Driverless Car Push

GM seeks to hire back former Cruise employees to develop autonomous cars for personal use. The company aims to create hands-free, eyes-free driving with a human in the vehicle, ultimately leading to a car that can drive with no one at the wheel. Shares of General Motors are up fractionally in afternoon trading.

General Motors (GM) is reviving its autonomous driving program by seeking to hire back former employees from its defunct Cruise autonomous-vehicle business. The company aims to develop a new driverless car focused on personal use, according to people familiar with the matter [1].

The renewed push is led by Sterling Anderson, the former Tesla Inc. Autopilot chief who joined GM earlier this year. Anderson sees autonomy as the future and has outlined plans to bring back some Cruise workers and hire new staff for GM’s Mountain View, California, office. The first step in this initiative is to develop hands-free, eyes-free driving with a human in the vehicle, with the ultimate goal of creating a car that can drive with no one at the wheel [1].

GM has been running human-driven vehicles on public roads to gather data for the development of self-driving technology. The company’s lidar-equipped fleet is logging data to build simulation models that will guide the development process [1].

The renewed focus on autonomous vehicles comes after GM exited its robotaxi business following an incident that seriously injured a pedestrian. The incident led to a crackdown by regulators and the eventual grounding of the entire Cruise fleet [1]. Despite these setbacks, GM remains committed to the development of driverless vehicles. The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Mary Barra, has cited autonomous technology as one of GM’s clear priorities, along with expanding its domestic supply chain and innovating in batteries [1].

GM’s hands-free driving technology, Super Cruise, is already available in 23 models, including the Cadillac LYRIQ, Escalade, GMC Hummer EV, and Sierra. The technology, which works on pre-mapped, divided roads, is expected to generate over $200 million in revenue by 2025, with projections for more than double that in 2026 [2]. While Super Cruise is not fully autonomous, it reflects GM’s effort to keep pace in an industry where advanced software and hands-free driving capabilities are becoming the norm.

GM’s stock has seen a 30% increase over the past year compared to the industry’s gain of 18%, with a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 5.49, above the industry average [2]. The company’s shares are up fractionally in afternoon trading as news of the renewed push for autonomous cars for personal use continues to unfold.

References:
[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-11/gm-plans-renewed-push-on-driverless-cars-after-cruise-debacle
[2] https://www.tradingview.com/news/zacks:02f2ee3cc094b:0-is-gm-s-super-cruise-keeping-it-competitive-in-the-auto-tech-race/