The Self-Driving Industry Looks Unwell, Waymo Layoffs Begin

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

Alphabet subsidiary Waymo has reportedly leaned into layoffs and everyone is wondering whether this is an offshoot of the 12,000 job cuts being made at Google or indicative that self-driving tech has run itself into a brick wall. While there’s certainly a wealth of evidence that autonomous vehicles have progressed more slowly than the industry would have had us believe a decade earlier, Waymo has arguably made some of the biggest strides in the industry.


That doesn’t mean there haven’t also been high-profile incidents that would leave one doubting the viability of self-driving cars. But the company has one of the most ambitious and successful pilot programs for autonomous vehicles to date.


According to Automotive News, several dozen Waymo employees have recently announced their layoffs over LinkedIn – suggesting that they’re the tip of the iceberg. Lost positions are not isolated to any single job title either. Waymo has reportedly cut staff from marketing teams, engineering departments, fleet maintenance, system integration, and just about every other department imaginable. Though it's hardly like this was a problem exclusive to any singular company.


From AN:


In perhaps signs of an uneven AV business landscape, recruiters and friends pointed the freshly unemployed Waymo veterans to active openings at self-driving tech companies such as Cruise, Gatik, Kodiak Robotics, Motional and Outrider.


Motional itself conducted an undisclosed number of layoffs in November. Waymo's reductions come three months after a key robotaxi competitor, Argo AI, entirely shuttered operations. Argo was a joint venture between Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen Group.


Despite the layoffs, the company's goals for 2023 remain unaffected, according to the spokesperson. But plans for its Via autonomous trucking unit have been pushed back. Waymo has never publicly outlined a specific time frame for commercially deploying its Class 8 tractor trailers without humans aboard. Nonetheless, the internal timeline has been "slightly" delayed, the spokesperson said.


It’s worth noting that tech companies are hemorrhaging staff across the board right now. Many investors have become skeptical about some of the promises made by these companies and the hectic economic landscape hasn’t helped things. Automakers have also been quietly (and sometimes not-so-quietly) reducing staff for years now, with rolling layoffs (some of which were temporary) really kicking off after restrictive health policies were put into place after 2020.


Waymo has said its passenger-carrying commercial service ( done without human drivers) will continue in Phoenix, Arizona, and remain its central focus as it helps develop better self-driving systems. The company also plans on expanding use for larger vehicles spending the brunt of its time on the highway via collaborative projects it already has with companies like UPS and J.B. Hunt.


We'll keep digging into the issue to see just how many people Waymo has lost and anticipate an update in the coming days. As things currently stand, it sounds like the self-driving arm has taken quite the hit but it's presently wrapped up in the broader Google layoffs.


[Image: Waymo]

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Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • Tylanner Tylanner on Jan 27, 2023

    Self-driving technology has never moved beyond "Senior Project" levels of engineering and infrastructure. More of a Pinewood derby competition than space-race.




    • MaintenanceCosts MaintenanceCosts on Jan 27, 2023

      Responsible companies' versions of the tech (i.e., not Tesla or Uber) are actually pretty good in perfect weather and with legible road markings. We're way beyond the science fair. The problems that haven't been solved yet are bad weather and worn-out roads.




  • Brn Brn on Jan 28, 2023

    More likely, with Google having troubles, the money tree isn't as ripe as it once was and cutbacks are needed.


    I hope the overall industry continues to evolve. When I get the the point I can't easily drive, I would still appreciate the independence that autonomous vehicles can bring.

  • TheEndlessEnigma I would mandate the elimination of all autonomous driving tech in automobiles. And specifically for GM....sorry....gm....I would mandate On Star be offered as an option only.Not quite the question you asked but.....you asked.
  • MaintenanceCosts There's not a lot of meat to this (or to an argument in the opposite direction) without some data comparing the respective frequency of "good" activations that prevent a collision and false alarms. The studies I see show between 25% and 40% reduction in rear-end crashes where AEB is installed, so we have one side of that equation, but there doesn't seem to be much if any data out there on the frequency of false activations, especially false activations that cause a collision.
  • Zerocred Automatic emergency braking scared the hell out of me. I was coming up on a line of stopped cars that the Jeep (Grand Cherokee) thought was too fast and it blared out an incredibly loud warbling sound while applying the brakes. I had the car under control and wasn’t in danger of hitting anything. It was one of those ‘wtf just happened’ moments.I like adaptive cruise control, the backup camera and the warning about approaching emergency vehicles. I’m ambivalent  about rear cross traffic alert and all the different tones if it thinks I’m too close to anything. I turned off lane keep assist, auto start-stop, emergency backup stop. The Jeep also has automatic parking (parallel and back in), which I’ve never used.
  • MaintenanceCosts Mandatory speed limiters.Flame away - I'm well aware this is the most unpopular opinion on the internet - but the overwhelming majority of the driving population has not proven itself even close to capable of managing unlimited vehicles, and it's time to start dealing with it.Three important mitigations have to be in place:(1) They give 10 mph grace on non-limited-access roads and 15-20 on limited-access roads. The goal is not exact compliance but stopping extreme speeding.(2) They work entirely locally, except for downloading speed limit data for large map segments (too large to identify with any precision where the driver is). Neither location nor speed data is ever uploaded.(3) They don't enforce on private property, only on public roadways. Race your track cars to your heart's content.
  • GIJOOOE Anyone who thinks that sleazbag used car dealers no longer exist in America has obviously never been in the military. Doesn’t matter what branch nor assigned duty station, just drive within a few miles of a military base and you’ll see more sleazbags selling used cars than you can imagine. So glad I never fell for their scams, but there are literally tens of thousands of soldiers/sailors/Marines/airmen who have been sold a pos car on a 25% interest rate.
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