GM Restructures IT Workforce, Lays Off Hundreds to Prioritize AI Skills

General Motors has recently announced the layoff of over 10% of its IT department, affecting approximately 600 salaried employees. This strategic move is described as a deliberate 'skills swap,' aiming to replace workers whose expertise no longer aligns with the company's future direction with individuals possessing strong AI-focused backgrounds. GM confirmed these layoffs to TechCrunch, which were initially reported by Bloomberg News, highlighting a significant shift in the automaker's technological priorities. In an emailed statement, GM framed these layoffs as a measure to prepare the company for the future, though specific details regarding the affected roles or departments were not provided. The company stated, "GM is transforming its Information Technology organization to better position the company for the future." It is important to note that these layoffs are not all permanent headcount reductions; a person familiar with the situation informed TechCrunch that GM is still actively hiring for roles within its IT department, but for a distinctly different set of skills. The most sought-after capabilities now include AI-native development, advanced data engineering and analytics, cloud-based engineering, agent and model development, prompt engineering, and new AI workflows. In practical terms, GM is looking for individuals who know how to build with AI from the ground up – designing complex systems, training large language and machine learning models, and engineering data pipelines – rather than merely utilizing AI as a productivity tool or for routine task automation. This approach reflects a deep desire to integrate AI into the core of its operations. These recent layoffs are not an isolated incident for GM, which has been reducing its white-collar workforce across several departments over the past 18 months. The company has been increasingly focusing its resources on high-priority initiatives, with AI at the forefront. For instance, in August 2024, GM cut about 1,000 software workers. The software workforce, in particular, has undergone substantial change since Sterling Anderson, co-founder of the autonomous trucking startup Aurora and a veteran of the autonomous vehicle industry, was hired in May 2025 as chief product officer, leading efforts to consolidate technological operations. Last November, three top executives departed the company’s software team as Anderson pushed to consolidate GM’s disparate technology businesses into a single organization. These executives included 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 VP at Cisco who served just nine months as GM’s chief AI officer. GM has since moved to fill these gaps with new AI-focused hires, bringing on Behrad Toghi, formerly of Apple, as AI lead in October, and Rashed Haq as vice president of autonomous vehicles. Haq spent five years at Cruise – the self-driving vehicle company acquired and later shuttered by GM – as its head of AI and robotics. For the industry at large, GM's restructuring serves as a clear signal of what enterprise AI adoption truly looks like in practice. It's not merely about adding AI tools on top of existing teams, but rather a deliberate and fundamental rebuilding of the workforce from the ground up. The specific capabilities GM is hiring for – such as agent development, model engineering, and AI-native workflows – point directly to the direction in which large-enterprise demand is heading. This move underscores that the future job market demands advanced and specialized AI skills, compelling companies to re-evaluate and reshape their teams to keep pace with rapid technological advancements and the profound digital transformation sweeping the globe.