General Motors Lays Off 600 IT Workers to Prioritize AI

General Motors laid off between 500 and 600 salaried information technology employees starting May 11, 2026. The cuts represent more than 10% of the company's IT department and are primarily concentrated at technology hubs in Warren, Michigan, and Austin, Texas. This restructuring follows a previous reduction of over 200 Computer-Aided Design engineers in October 2025 and roughly 1,000 software job cuts in 2024.

Management describes the move as a "skills swap" rather than a simple cost-cutting exercise. The automaker is eliminating roles that no longer align with its priorities to hire experts in AI-native software development, data engineering, cloud infrastructure, and machine learning. This shift coincides with a broader strategic retreat from electric vehicles and robotaxis, and a move toward software-defined vehicles. The company is currently integrating Google Gemini and Nvidia Drive Thor into its architecture, with CEO Mary Barra noting that nearly 90% of the code for autonomous driving technology is now generated by AI.

To lead this transition, the company hired Behrad Toghi from Apple as AI lead and appointed Rashed Haq as vice president of autonomous vehicles. These changes follow the 2025 appointment of Sterling Anderson as chief product officer, who pushed to consolidate technology operations. Despite reporting $43.6 billion in first-quarter revenue and beating earnings estimates by 40%, the company's stock dropped 4% following the restructuring announcement.