General Motors (GM) is looking to specific business areas to help determine worker bonuses for the year, as the automaker attempts to right the ship at self-driving unit Cruise and launch additional electric vehicles (EVs).
According to a report from Automotive News last week, GM plans to consider company performance in areas like EV sales, software and services, and Cruise when calculating salaried worker bonuses for 2024. The report also says that 60 percent of salaried worker bonuses will come from free cash flow and earnings before interest and taxes, while 40 percent come from the aforementioned categories.
“Our bonus plans have evolved over time to match business needs and align more closely with our strategic goals,” said Tara Kuhnen, a GM spokesperson. “Our goal is to incentivize everyone to think and act with an enterprise perspective.”
The news comes after GM announced plans to cut Cruise spending in half in 2024, following an accident in which one of its driverless taxis dragged and pinned a pedestrian in October. The accident led the company to lose its permit to operate driverless vehicles, and Cruise later trimmed about a quarter of its staff and let go of several executives.
GM CEO Mary Barra recently emphasized the company’s attempts to “refocus and relaunch” the self-driving unit this year in the automaker’s recent Q4 2023 and full-year earnings call.
“At Cruise, we are committed to earning back the trust of regulators and the public through our commitments and our actions,” Barra said in a letter to shareholders.
GM is also looking to launch as many as six new EVs this year, including the Chevy-brand Silverado EV, Equinox EV, and Blazer EV, the Cadillac-brand Escalade IQ and Celestiq EV, and the GMC Sierra EV.
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