(Reuters) -General Motors ( GM ) said on Tuesday it will stop funding development of robotaxis at its majority-owned Cruise business, a blow to the automaker that had made the advanced technology unit a top priority.

GM said it would not fund work on the robotaxis "given the considerable time and resources that would be needed to scale the business, along with an increasingly competitive robotaxi market."

Last month, Cruise admitted to submitting a false report to influence a federal investigation and will pay a $500,000 criminal fine as part of a deferred prosecution agreement. The Justice Department said Cruise failed to disclose key details of an October 2023 crash to federal regulators in which one of its robotaxis in San Francisco struck and seriously injured a pedestrian.

GM expects the restructuring will lower spending by more than $1 billion annually after the plan is completed by the end of June.