GM lays off 600 IT workers in AI skills swap as automaker pivots to software-defined vehicles

"General Motors is laying off 500 to 600 salaried IT workers and replacing them with engineers who know how to build AI systems. The cuts, centred in Austin, Texas, and Warren, Michigan, represent more than 10 per cent of GM's IT department. The company is not reducing headcount for cost savings. It is executing what amounts to a skills swap: clearing out workers whose expertise no longer fits and hiring data engineers, prompt specialists, and AI-native developers in their place."

"The restructuring is narrow. It targets one department in a company that employs roughly 163,000 people. But its significance extends beyond the numbers because it illustrates what enterprise AI adoption looks like in practice at a 118-year-old industrial company. GM is not bolting AI tools onto its existing workforce. It is deliberately rebuilding the workforce from the ground up, role by role, to match the technical demands of a product strategy that has shifted dramatically in the past 18 months."

"GM bet on three technology futures: electric vehicles, autonomous driving, and software-defined vehicles. It is now retreating from two and doubling down on the third. The electric vehicle pullback has been severe. GM recorded 7.1 billion dollars in special charges in the fourth quarter of 2025, including six billion related to its EV plans. It sold its stake in the Ultium Cells battery plant in Lansing, Michigan, to LG Energy Solution."

"It idled battery plants in Ohio and Tennessee. It laid off 1,750 workers indefinitely and temporarily cut another 1,670 at EV and battery facilities. In April, GM suspended development of its next-generation full-size electric truck and SUV."

General Motors is laying off 500 to 600 salaried IT workers and hiring engineers who can build AI systems. The cuts, centered in Austin, Texas, and Warren, Michigan, affect more than 10% of the company’s IT department. GM is not reducing overall headcount for cost savings, but is performing a skills swap by removing roles whose expertise no longer fits and adding data engineers, prompt specialists, and AI-native developers. The change reflects a broader product strategy shift over the past 18 months. GM is retreating from electric vehicles and autonomous driving while doubling down on software-defined vehicles powered by Google Gemini and Nvidia Drive Thor.

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