General Motors Co. ’s driverless-car division, Cruise, has hired a former Delta Air Lines Inc. executive to serve as its operations chief, a sign the company is moving closer to offering services to paying customers.
Gil West, who retired in September after 12 years at Delta, has joined Cruise as chief operating officer, Cruise said Friday. Mr. West was highly regarded at Delta, where he oversaw the company’s rise from a reliability laggard to the top ranks.
The hire signals that Cruise, which has been refining and testing its autonomous technology on the streets of San Francisco for years, is readying its operations to roll out a commercial service.
Mr. West’s position is a new role at Cruise, which has spent its seven years as a research-and-development company. The executive will oversee all aspects of the company’s future autonomous ride-hailing network, from fleet management to customer service, a spokesman said.
Cruise missed its goal of launching a driverless ride-hailing service in 2019 and hasn’t set a new target date.
