General Motors Cuts 1000 Jobs in Software and Services

General Motors announced today that it is laying off more than 1000 employees worldwide. The cuts come to salaried staffers in the company's software and services division, with about 600 of those cuts taking place at GM's Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, outside of Detroit.

In a memo, a GM spokesperson said: "As we build GM's future, we must simplify for speed and excellence, make bold choices, and prioritize the investments that will have the greatest impact. As a result, we're reducing certain teams within the Software and Services organization. We are grateful to those who helped establish a strong foundation that positions GM to lead moving forward."

The move comes four months after the departure of Mike Abbot, vice president of GM's first dedicated software division, who left the company for health reasons. He was succeeded in the role by David Richardson and Baris Cetinok. Richardson, vice president of software and services engineering, oversees software-defined vehicle development, software quality and testing, cloud platforms, web and mobile, IT, and advanced driver-assistance systems such as Super Cruise. Cetinok heads up the software and services product management, program management, and design departments.

In 2023, GM took a highly publicized-and much criticized-step away from Apple Carplay and Android Auto, phasing out such connectivity in all future cars citing, among other reasons, poor connection issues and driver safety. Skeptics cited GM's own desire to develop and monetize a subscription-based model to deliver such services to its customers, a model GM CEO Mary Barra believes will be worth around $25 billion in revenue by 2030.

GM has been in cost-cutting mode over the last two years. In February 2023, the company cut hundreds executive-level and salaried positions; two months later it offered buyouts to around 5000 more salaried employees.

GM currently employs a salaried workforce of 76,000 people worldwide; today's cuts represent 1.3 percent of that workforce.