Microsoft announced it expects to take an impairment charge of approximately $800 million in the second quarter of its fiscal year 2025 following General Motors’ decision to shut down its Cruise autonomous driving division.
General Motors, which had invested over $10 billion in robotaxi development since 2016, said it is halting the project due to increasing competition in the autonomous vehicle market and the extensive time and resources required to scale the business.
In January 2021, Microsoft acquired a minority stake in Cruise as part of a $2 billion equity investment round, which included other institutional investors such as Honda Motor.
The impairment charge is expected to reduce Microsoft’s second-quarter earnings per share by approximately 9 cents, the company said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.
General Motors’ decision marks a significant shift in the robotaxi business, signaling the challenges even major corporations face in scaling autonomous driving technology. Despite strong investments, the path to profitability in this sector remains complex, with competition from companies such as Waymo and Tesla intensifying.
