Uber’s self-driving car operations have been under scrutiny ever since the fatal accident involving one of its autonomous cars in Arizona back in March. The company has since ended its self-driving car program in Arizona. The company also suspended driverless car testing in all other markets which include Toronto, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco. It now appears to be trimming the staff attached to the overall project as well. According to a new report, Uber has laid off close to 100 of its self-driving car operators in San Francisco and Pittsburgh.
This might look like Uber is done with its self-driving car program but that’s far from the case. The company is working to resume testing in Pittsburgh in the next several weeks.
“Our team remains committed to building safe self-driving technology, and we look forward to returning to public roads in the coming months,” a spokesperson for the company confirmed to TechCrunch.
The operators who have been laid off can apply for about one of 55 new advanced operator positions which Uber is referring to as Mission Specialists in either San Francisco or Pittsburgh. The Mission Specialists will be trained for test track and on-road operations and they will be tasked with providing feedback to the developers.
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