Uber is shutting down its self-driving car tests in Arizona, where one of the cars was involved in a fatal crash with a pedestrian in March, the company said Wednesday.
According to a report from the Arizona Republic, the company notified about 300 Arizona workers in the self-driving program that they were being terminated just before 9 a.m. Wednesday. The shutdown should take several weeks.
The self-driving program in the state has been suspended since a few days after the Tempe accident occurred in March. Tempe police issued a statement Wednesday evening saying the department has completed its report on the collision involving the Uber self-driving vehicle and submitted it to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. However, the report has not yet been released to the public.
Uber plans to restart testing self-driving cars in Pittsburgh once federal investigators conclude their inquiry into the Tempe crash. Uber said it is having discussions with California leaders to restart testing there as well.
Uber's traditional rider service will continue to operate in Arizona. The company has an operations center in downtown Phoenix and employs about 550 people in the state, not counting contract drivers.
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Source: Arizona Republic
