By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – General Motors stock (NYSE:GM) traded nearly 3% lower in Friday’s premarket after the company said that Dan Ammann, the chief executive of its self-driving car subsidiary Cruise, is leaving with immediate effect.
Ammann’s departure comes as the company waits for approval to operate a self-driving car service in San Francisco.
Cruise last month sough California Public Utility Commission’s permit to charge for rides in autonomous vehicles that have no safety driver. According to Bloomberg, GM CEO Mary Barra is counting on the business for $50 billion in revenue within six years.
Ammann had a key role in GM’s purchase of Cruise in 2016 and was named CEO of the unit in 2019. The outgoing chief executive had restricted stock in the venture, holding prospects of a windfall in the event of the company getting listed -- “a long-term consideration” in Barra’s words, according to Bloomberg.
Cruise founder Kyle Vogt, who is the business’s president and chief technical officer, will serve as interim CEO. Wesley Bush, former chairman and CEO of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) and a member of the GM board, will join the Cruise board, GM said in a statement.
According to GM, Cruise will play an integral role in building its autonomous vehicle platform in its pursuit of markets beyond rideshare and delivery.