GM just made a big behind-the-scenes move to boost robot cars

General Motors announced plans to close three assembly plants, one each in Michigan, Ohio and Ontario before the end of 2019. Cruise Automation's Dan Kan and Kyle Vogt pose for a photo with General Motors' Dan Ammann at Cruise Automation offices in San Francisco, Calif. on Nov. 20, 2018. General Motors is moving its No. 2 executive, company President Dan Ammann, to be CEO of its self-driving unit, GM Cruise, as it aggressively pushes to bring the robot cars to market next year. Starting Jan. 1, Ammann, 46, takes the helm of Cruise. Cruise cofounder, Kyle Vogt, 33, stays to lead technology development as Cruise president and chief technology officer.