General Motors Co’s self-driving vehicle subsidiary Cruise has been quoted for luring talent from rival Zoox through an email communication sent to engineers of the struggling venture.
GCC Business News had earlier reported that e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc was in advanced talks to acquire the 6-year-old, Silicon Valley organization Zoox.
“Cruise is willing to recognize the full value of the rewards you’ve earned at Zoox – something that is very unlikely to occur via an acquisition in this environment,” stated the email from Cruise founder Kyle Vogt sent in the past couple of days. Actual proof of communication has not been available for review.
Cruise confirmed the communication with the Zoox team was genuine.
“We’re going after the best talent in the world, wherever they may be working and whatever else they might be working on.” – Kristine Boyden Chief Communications Officer – Cruise
Zoox didn’t instantly respond to a request for remark about the tempting letter to its employees. According to the PitchBook, Zoox had about 1,100 employees as of May 12.
California Employment Development Department records show Zoox laid off 87 employees in April.
Cruise has been expediting its efforts on recruiting talent for its core technology. In April it procured a German radar company Astyx that has a workforce of 60 employees. Cruise has also recruited many engineers this year from self-driving truck firm Starsky Robotics which closed in March.
