General Motors lays off 500+ IT employees amid cost-cutting push

General Motors has begun laying off hundreds of salaried employees within its information technology division as the US automaker sharpens cost controls and reassesses workforce requirements across key operations.

The job reductions started on Monday and are expected to affect roughly 500 to 600 employees globally, with the largest impact concentrated in Austin, Texas, and Warren, Michigan. The cuts were first reported by Bloomberg News.

The latest restructuring move comes as GM continues to balance aggressive investments in next-generation technologies with mounting pressure to improve efficiency and streamline operations. The company confirmed the layoffs but did not disclose the precise number of affected employees.

In a statement emailed to CNBC, the automaker said it was reshaping its technology organisation to better align with future business priorities.

“GM is transforming its Information Technology organisation to better position the company for the future. 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,” the company said.

Workforce review intensifies across the auto sector

The layoffs reflect a broader pattern emerging across the automotive and technology industries, where companies are recalibrating staffing structures amid economic uncertainty, evolving software demands and rising investments in artificial intelligence.

While traditional vehicle manufacturing remains central to operations, global carmakers are increasingly behaving like software companies, directing resources towards digital systems, connected vehicles, automation and AI-driven mobility services.

For General Motors, that transition has involved repeated reviews of salaried staffing levels and technical capabilities.

CNBC reported that the company employed around 68,000 salaried workers globally at the end of last year, including approximately 47,000 white-collar employees in the United States.

The latest cuts are not the first reduction within GM’s engineering and technology ecosystem.

In October last year, the company laid off more than 200 Computer-Aided Design, or CAD, engineers, citing “business conditions”. That move signalled GM’s continued focus on aligning employee skill sets with changing operational priorities.

Hiring continues despite layoffs

Even as the company trims parts of its IT workforce, GM continues to recruit for specialised technology positions tied to future mobility programmes.

According to CNBC’s reporting, the automaker currently has 82 open IT-related roles listed on its careers website. Those vacancies include positions connected to:

• Artificial intelligence
• Autonomous vehicles
• Motorsports technologies
• Advanced software engineering
• Digital operations

The parallel strategy of reducing some roles while hiring for others underscores how large corporations are selectively reallocating talent rather than implementing blanket freezes.

Industry analysts have increasingly pointed to a mismatch between legacy enterprise IT functions and emerging software-focused automotive needs. Companies are prioritising expertise in machine learning, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems and autonomous driving technologies while reducing positions considered less critical to long-term transformation plans.

Pressure grows to improve operational efficiency

The restructuring also arrives at a time when major automakers are facing growing investor scrutiny over spending discipline.

Although manufacturers continue to invest billions into electrification and software-defined vehicles, many are simultaneously attempting to reduce fixed costs and improve operational margins after years of aggressive expansion.

For GM, balancing those priorities has become particularly important as competition intensifies across electric vehicles, autonomous mobility and connected car technologies.

Under the leadership of Mary Barra, the company has pushed to position itself as a technology-driven mobility business while maintaining profitability in its traditional vehicle operations.

That transformation strategy has included investments in electric platforms, software systems and autonomous vehicle initiatives. However, the shift has also forced companies such as GM to continually reassess where talent and capital are deployed.

The latest job reductions suggest the company is tightening internal structures even as it continues to invest in high-growth technology areas.

Technology roles remain central to automotive future

Despite the layoffs, the broader demand for advanced technology talent inside the automotive industry remains strong.

Modern vehicles increasingly rely on software for everything from infotainment and battery management to driver assistance systems and predictive diagnostics. Carmakers are also under pressure to accelerate AI integration across manufacturing, logistics and customer experience platforms.

As a result, automakers are competing more directly with technology firms for highly specialised engineers and software developers.

GM’s continued recruitment in AI and autonomous systems indicates that while certain traditional IT functions may be shrinking, the company still sees technology as central to its future operating model.

The restructuring therefore reflects not only cost management, but also a wider reorganisation of skills and priorities inside one of America’s largest automakers.

With the industry moving deeper into software-led mobility, workforce changes across engineering and IT departments are expected to remain a defining feature of the automotive sector in the years ahead.