Hundreds of General Motors employees were abruptly laid off during a 15-minute virtual meeting, leaving many shocked and disillusioned. Workers at the Detroit-based automotive giant received a curiously timed email inviting them to a brief online meeting with human resources on Monday. During the call, they were read a scripted message informing them of their termination, after which the meeting ended without any opportunity for questions or discussion.
“No appreciation or empathy. No questions. Nothing,” one data analyst who had spent over a decade at GM told CNBC. The layoffs affected approximately 500 to 600 employees, predominantly in IT roles located in Austin, Texas, and Warren, Michigan, according to a source familiar with the cuts.
In a stark contrast, GM is actively recruiting for artificial intelligence-focused positions as automakers accelerate their adoption of AI to enhance worker productivity and streamline operations. Currently, 80 IT positions are listed, including roles in AI, motorsports, and autonomous vehicles. “They’re going to push AI for everyday work and everything else,” a former employee told CNBC.
The veteran programmer and data scientist who lost their job noted that staff had been encouraged to integrate AI into their daily tasks even before the layoffs. “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,” they said.
As part of the severance packages, employees received sliding-scale compensation based on tenure, along with lump-sum payments to assist with healthcare costs and mental health services through Lyra Health.
In a statement, GM sidestepped the role AI played in the layoffs. “GM is transforming its Information Technology organization to better position the company for the future. As part of that work, we have made the difficult decision to eliminate certain roles globally,” the company said.
These cuts position GM as the latest major American corporation to reduce white-collar jobs as executives race to reshape their workforces for the AI era. San Francisco-based tech company Cloudflare recently eliminated 1,100 positions after reporting a 34 percent surge in first-quarter revenue to $639.8 million, partly driven by its aggressive AI strategy. In an internal memo, Cloudflare co-founders Matthew Prince and Michelle Zatlyn warned that AI had fundamentally transformed the company’s operations, noting that internal AI usage had skyrocketed over 600 percent in just three months across departments including engineering, HR, finance, and marketing.
Amazon, Meta, Oracle, and Block have also announced job cuts while attributing them in some way to AI, automation, or efforts to boost productivity. GM, founded in 1908, remains a cornerstone of US manufacturing and the parent company of Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC.
