Waymo CEO: Self-Driving Cars will Create More Jobs

Tekedra Mawakana, Co-CEO of Waymo, says that the growth of driverless EVs could create new employment opportunities rather than eliminating existing jobs.

In an interview with the New York Times, Tekedra said it was "great to see" that the technology was not replacing workers "now that we've been in a few markets for a few years".

Waymo originated as Google's autonomous vehicle initiative in 2009 before transitioning into a standalone company under Alphabet in 2016.

The organisation now runs approximately 3,000 autonomous vehicles across selected cities in the US.

The expansion of robotaxis

The robotaxi sector continues to grow, with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) research indicating that the worldwide robotaxi fleet could reach between 700,000 and 3 million vehicles by 2035.

The same research points to increasing consumer acceptance of autonomous taxis, with BCG projecting that acceptance rates in the US could climb to approximately 60% by 2030.

Contrary to concerns that this expansion would result in job losses, Tekedra argues that it could actually boost blue-collar employment opportunities.

Tekedra said: "Humans are still rotating those tires and working on those vehicles.

"We have fleet operators, we have fleet technicians. All of our fleets are fully electric.

"Those charging companies are building the infrastructure, putting them in city centres, pulling those wires from the utility company."

Workforce training initiatives

To develop this workforce, Waymo revealed a partnership with TechForce, a US nonprofit organisation focused on advancing professional technicians throughout the transportation sector.

The company will provide funding for 28 tuition scholarships aimed at students and working technicians participating in technical and community college courses, whilst developing resources for individuals nationwide.

Jennifer Maher, Chief Executive Officer of TechForce, says of the collaboration: "This partnership with Waymo will help open new doors to opportunities for students and working technicians in the emerging electric and autonomous vehicle industries.

"Together Waymo and TechForce will help prepare students for careers in fields like automotive technology, robotics and mechatronics, opportunities that will multiply as emerging transportation technologies expand around the US."

This builds on a commitment that launched in 2023 with its Career Readiness Institute.

The programme, which Waymo created alongside LA Tech, is a 16-week registered pre-apprenticeship scheme that has supported more than 200 students in preparing for technology careers and provided insights into career opportunities within the automated vehicle sector.

Automation in ridesharing

Waymo is not alone in anticipating developments in autonomous vehicle technology.

Dara Khosrowshahi, Chief Executive Officer of Uber, said on The Diary of a CEO podcast that he expects most of the company's journeys will be automated within the coming two decades.

He said: "You can imagine the majority of our trips being fulfilled by robots of some kind. Probably not 10 years from now, but you go 15 to 20 years from now, you're going to start getting there."

Uber currently has approximately 9.5 million active drivers worldwide and has introduced new operational frameworks to ensure these drivers continue to have work available.

This includes launching a 'Digital Tasks' pilot programme in October 2024, which compensates drivers for completing brief in-app tasks that assist in training AI models.

Speaking at the All in Summit, Khosrowshahi says that Uber was "expanding into other kinds of on-demand work as well to be able to adjust the kind of work available to people who want to earn on our own platform".