GM adding 1,100 jobs at San Francisco Based Cruise Automation

resource from: The Detroit News   

By Eric Walz

California has just approved $8 million in tax credits for General Motors which will be used to expand self-driving car research near Silicon Valley. State officials approved the credits on Thursday, April 13, (PDT) with the understanding that GM will invest $14 million in its facilities there and hire more than 1,100 new workers.

GM said that the investment will be used to create a new research and development facility for Cruise Automation, the startup GM purchased last year for $1 billion dollars. Cruise Automation has since been working with GM on its development of self-driving and connected vehicles.

GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra said in a statement Thursday that "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 development of these technologies and the market applications."

GM's millions will help rehabilitate an abandoned brownfield site in San Francisco. The move is expected to more than double Cruise Automation's R&D space. The 1,100 new hires will be added to the staff at Cruise Automation, and also increases GM's overall presence in California.

"As autonomous car technology matures, our company's talent needs will continue to increase," said Cruise Automation CEO Kyle Vogt. "Accessing the world-class talent pool that the San Francisco Bay Area offers is one of the many reasons we plan to grow our presence in the state."

GM and Cruise Automation employees are currently testing dozens of fully autonomous vehicles in California, Arizona and Michigan.

The tax credits were made available via the "California Competes Program" which is designed for companies relocate and expand in California. Previous beneficiaries tax credit include Alibaba and Tesla Motors. Tesla received $15 million in credits two years ago.

resource from: The Detroit News

Eric Walz

Originally hailing from New Jersey, Eric is a automotive & technology reporter covering the high-tech industry here in Silicon Valley. He has over 15 years of automotive experience and a bachelors degree in computer science. These skills, combined with technical writing and news reporting, allows him to fully understand and identify new and innovative technologies in the auto industry and beyond. He has worked at Uber on self-driving cars and as a technical writer, helping people to understand and work with technology.