Cruise Automation

The GM-backed autonomous vehicle startup Cruise is getting ready to go on a hiring spree in the next year. A Reuters report published on Monday confirmed that the company plans to double in size by the end of 2019.

Why such rapid expansion? Well, the company is pushing to get its self-driving taxi service up and running. To do that, it's going to need a lot more people, mostly engineers according to Cruise spokesperson Ray Wert in a statement to Reuters.

This is hardly the latest personnel shakeup at Cruise either. Former GM President Dan Ammann left his position at the General to head up things at Cruise, allowing former CEO Kyle Vogt to transition to president and chief technology officer.

With this massive expansion on the horizon and GM money to back it, it will be interesting to see if Cruise can execute its taxi plan and move out of the shadow of other self-driving car companies like Waymo.