GM cuts hundreds of IT jobs to hire AI-skilled workers
▼ Summary
– GM laid off about 600 IT employees (over 10% of the department) to replace them with workers skilled in AI-native development, data engineering, and cloud-based engineering.
– The layoffs are not all permanent reductions, as GM is still hiring for roles focused on building AI systems from the ground up, not just using AI as a tool.
– GM has cut white-collar jobs across several departments over the past 18 months, including about 1,000 software workers in August 2024, to focus resources on AI initiatives.
– Since Sterling Anderson became chief product officer in May 2025, three top software executives left, and GM has hired new AI-focused leaders like Behrad Toghi and Rashed Haq.
– The restructuring signals a shift in enterprise AI adoption, where companies rebuild workforces around capabilities like agent development and model engineering rather than just adding AI tools.
General Motors has reduced its IT workforce by over 10%, cutting approximately 600 salaried positions. This move is a calculated workforce restructuring aimed at replacing legacy expertise with AI-focused talent as the automaker accelerates its digital transformation.
The company confirmed the layoffs to TechCrunch, following an initial report from Bloomberg News. In a statement, GM framed the cuts as a strategic step to prepare for the future, noting it is “transforming its Information Technology organization to better position the company for the future.” No further details were provided.
Importantly, these reductions do not represent a net loss of jobs. A source familiar with the situation told TechCrunch that GM continues to hire for its IT department, but with a sharp pivot toward new skill sets. The most in-demand capabilities include AI-native development, data engineering and analytics, cloud-based engineering, and expertise in agent and model development, prompt engineering, and AI workflows. In essence, GM is seeking professionals who can build AI systems from scratch,designing architectures, training models, and engineering pipelines,rather than those who simply use AI as a productivity tool.
This is not GM’s first wave of white-collar cuts. Over the past 18 months, the company has trimmed salaried roles across several departments to funnel resources into high-priority initiatives, with AI at the forefront. In August 2024, for example, GM laid off roughly 1,000 software workers.
The software division has undergone considerable change since Sterling Anderson joined as chief product officer in May 2025. Anderson, co-founder of autonomous trucking startup Aurora and a veteran of the self-driving vehicle industry, has driven consolidation of GM’s fragmented technology units into a single organization. Last November, three top software executives departed: Baris Cetinok, senior vice president of software and services product management; Dave Richardson, senior vice president of software and services engineering; and Barak Turovsky, a former Cisco VP who served only nine months as GM’s chief AI officer.
GM has since moved to fill these gaps with new AI-centric hires. In October, the company brought on Behrad Toghi, a former Apple engineer, as AI lead. It also appointed Rashed Haq as vice president of autonomous vehicles. Haq spent five years at Cruise,the self-driving vehicle company GM acquired and later shut down,where he served as head of AI and robotics.
For the broader industry, GM’s restructuring offers a clear signal of what enterprise AI adoption looks like in practice. It is not simply layering AI tools onto existing teams. Instead, it involves deliberately rebuilding the workforce from the ground up. The specific roles GM is recruiting for,agent development, model engineering, and AI-native workflows,point directly to where large-enterprise demand is heading.
(Source: TechCrunch)