Dec 10 (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.