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In a statement announcing the suspension, Uber said it is

Sept. 6, 2017 by James Ashley

In a statement announcing the suspension, Uber said it is removing the "sledgehammer" safety feature from its car cars. "We will continue delivering on our commitment to our users through a strong engineering team and a committed team of experienced engineers, including engineering interns, and to make this transition a reality," it said.

The company noted that its new engineer, who was working on the autonomous app, was not present when Uber fired him, making it unclear what changed or how the suspension will affect his ability to make such an informed decision. A subsequent statement from Uber said the suspension was in part because "the company is working with the U.S. Department of Transportation to ensure that all drivers are properly and safely covered by the safety and security standards we have established in the past."

Business Insider's team was not able to obtain a copy of the suspension document which included the statement that Uber is "unhappy" with its decision to remove the Safety feature from its car cars.

As part of its investigation into the April crash, Business Insider investigated the Uber suspension, and found that a separate letter was circulated by Uber's executive team, which includes the late former Uber driver Elaine Herzberg, to senior engineers and human resources at Uber. A separate letter was sent to the Uber engineer who was responsible for the automated self-driving car test, who was suspended for one day and banned for two weeks, along with his job as an engineer. According to reports, the letter contained "a list of potential potential violations, including failure to comply with our team's safety requirements. We believe that that's sufficient."

Business Insider's source said that the suspension was part of an ongoing process that began last week, and that no internal investigation into the May crash was conducted. When Business Insider contacted the Department of Transportation for comment, their spokesperson told us the suspension was still in place and that the Department of Transportation would not comment.

A spokesperson for Uber also confirmed that the company has a contract with the Department of Transportation to investigate safety related issues on the company's self-driving car program. However, the spokesperson said that the suspension was not made public until after the company had already reviewed the issue and considered it. The spokesperson said the suspension was not an indication of Uber's intent to remove the safety feature from its vehicles.

Business Insider reached out to several Uber executives and former Uber crew members for an update on the suspension. A recent internal Uber policy states that "A company has the right to remove any and all self-driving capabilities from its