General Motors Cuts 500 to 600 IT Jobs as AI Reshapes Workforce Needs

General Motors laid off between 500 and 600 employees on Monday, targeting largely information technology roles at its offices in Austin, Texas, and Warren, Michigan, as the automaker works to reduce costs and reorient its technology workforce around artificial intelligence.

Affected employees described receiving a terse, unexpectedly scheduled 15-minute virtual meeting, followed by a scripted message from human resources and an abrupt end to their employment.

"No appreciation or empathy. No questions. Nothing," said a data analyst who had worked at the automaker for more than a decade, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of professional repercussions.

GM confirmed the cuts in a statement Monday but declined to elaborate on the specific reasoning. "GM is transforming its Information Technology organization to better position the company for the future," the statement read. "As part of that work, we have made the difficult decision to eliminate certain roles globally. We are grateful for the contributions of the employees affected and are committed to supporting them through this transition."

A person at GM familiar with the situation, who asked not to be named because the details had not been made public, said AI played a role in the decision — reflecting the company's ongoing effort to hire employees with AI skill sets — but was not the sole driver of the cuts.

A veteran programmer and data scientist who was among those terminated said employees had been encouraged to incorporate AI tools into their daily workflows. "They're going to push AI for everyday work and everything else," the person said. "I've seen it firsthand. It can make you much more productive, as a programmer. It can really help you get more work done, but AI isn't going to do you any good if you don't know the business."

Despite the reductions, GM continued to advertise roughly 80 open IT positions as of Tuesday, including roles in AI, motorsports, and autonomous vehicles, according to the company's careers website.

The layoffs affected employees across a range of seniority levels. Under GM's severance program, employees with one to four years of experience are offered two months of severance pay, scaling up to four months for those with eight years of tenure and six months for those with 12 or more years. Lump-sum health care payments of between $2,000 and $6,000 are also included. Any unused vacation or sick time will be forfeited unless state law requires otherwise.

GM also arranged access to mental health services through Lyra and career coaching through outplacement firm LHH. All benefits are contingent on employees signing a release agreement. Affected workers who held company vehicles or equipment must also return them.

The cuts come amid a broader corporate trend in which companies including Amazon, Meta, Oracle, and Block have announced rounds of job reductions, with some citing AI's capacity to automate tasks and sustain output with smaller headcounts.

GM's move signals that the automotive sector is accelerating its own AI-driven workforce reconfiguration — and that even long-tenured technical employees are not insulated from the shift as traditional IT functions are absorbed by AI-assisted tooling.

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