Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt resigns amid safety woes for self-driving car firm

Kyle Vogt, a co-founder of Cruise — the self-driving car company GM acquired in 2016 — resigned on Sunday evening.

Why it matters: The company has been embattled in recent months as tensions with local authorities over safety have boiled over.

Catch up quick: Last month, following an incident in San Francisco during which one of Cruise's cars stopped on top of a pedestrian who had been hit by a human-driven vehicle, California regulators pulled Cruise’s permit to operate cars without safety drivers.

• The company shortly after suspended operation of all its cars.
• Last week, GM announced that Craig Glidden, its chief counsel and head of public policy, will become Cruise's chief administrative officer. GM is also hiring a third party to asses Cruise’s safety culture, and is expanding the scope of its investigation into the issue.
• Last week, Cruise suspended a share buyback program for employees for the fourth quarter (but moved up bonuses), which upset employees who planned on cashing out. Vogt backtracked on the move and apologized to the staff for the situation, per TechCrunch.

Flashback: This was Vogt’s second time at the helm of the company.

• He stepped back from the position in late 2018, ceding the role to then-GM executive Dan Amman, who had brokered the automaker’s relationship with the startup.
• Vogt took over again as CEO in late 2021 following Amman’s ouster.