General Motors last week announced plans to develop a new research and development facility for its self-driving subsidiary and add more than 1,100 employees to its workforce.
The Detroit automaker will repurpose an existing facility in San Francisco in order to double the R&D space available to Cruise Automation, the California startup acquired by GM last year.
"Running our autonomous vehicle program as a start-up is giving us the speed we need to continue to stay at the forefront of development of these technologies and the market applications," GM CEO Mary Barra said in a statement.
California economic development officials allocated an $8 million tax credit for the project; GM expects the facility to be up and running by the end of the year and to fill the new positions within five years.
Cruise and GM engineers are currently testing self-driving technology on more than 50 Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles in San Francisco, the Detroit area and Scottsdale, Ariz.
“As autonomous car technology matures, our company's talent needs will continue to increase," said Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt. "Accessing the world-class talent pool that the San Francisco Bay Area offers is one of the many reasons we plan to grow our presence in the state.”
