INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Uber has let go all (about 100) of its self-driving car operators in Pittsburgh and San Francisco, Quartz reportsand has been confirmed by
This comes after Uber officially pulled the plug on its operations in Arizona in May, following a fatal car crash involving one of its
autonomous vehicles in March.
Despite how this may initially look, Uber is still working on resuming autonomous vehicle testing in
Those affected by the layoffs can apply for one of roughly 55 new advanced operator positions that Uber calls Mission Specialists in either
San Francisco or Pittsburgh
Mission Specialists are trained for on-road and test track operations, and are responsible for giving feedback to developers.There are also
other open roles that don&t involve the operation of self-driving cars.
&Our team remains committed to building safe self-driving
technology, and we look forward to returning to public roads in the coming months,& an Uber spokesperson told TechCrunch.
Uber suspended its
self-driving car operations in all markets following the fatal Tempe, Ariz
crash, but operators were still employed by Uber and receiving regular pay
Now, those vehicle operators get first priority at applying for a Mission Specialist role, which requires some more technical expertise.
In
California, Uber decided in March not to re-apply for its self-driving car permit in the state, but Uber is still in fact intending to
resume testing in the state at some point
A couple of months later, at Uber Elevate conference, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said he expected self-driving cars to hit the streets again
within the next few months.Self-driving testing is also on hold in Toronto, but it seems that the employees behind the wheel were already in
Mission Specialist-like roles.
You can read more of TechCrunch coverage of Uber autonomous driving below.
Uber self-driving car strikes and
kills pedestrian while in autonomous mode
Uber safety driver of fatal self-driving crash was watching Hulu, not the road
