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General Motors GM+1.32% on Monday said it would lay off more than 1,000 salaried employees around the world as it moves to streamline its software and services division, according to multiple reports.
Impacted workers were notified on Monday morning, CNBC reports. About half of the cuts affect employees in the U.S., including 600 workers in Warren, Michigan, where GM has a tech campus home to more than 21,000 staffers.
The Detroit automaker said the layoffs were not a result of cost-cutting measures or restructuring, Reuters reports, but rather a review of operations after the executive in charge of the division left in March. Approximately 46% of GM’s workforce, about 76,000 people, were salaried employees as of December, according to the firm’s annual report.
Mike Abbott, executive vice president of software and services, left his role due to health reasons in March, although he is still a senior advisor to CEO Mary Barra. Abbot, a former Apple AAPL-0.45% executive, was initially hired in May 2023 to focus on the development of vehicle and enterprise software technology.
The software and services division is now led by Baris Cetinok, a former Apple AAPL-0.45% executive, and Dave Richardson, an engineering leader at Apple who helped found cloud computing company Skytap. Cetinok oversees teams responsible for software program development, while Richardson leads areas including driver-assistance systems and commercial solitions.
GM in April 2023 said some 5,000 salaried workers took buyouts as the automaker aimed to hit a $2 billion cost-cutting target. Those cuts — combined with earlier cuts in February 2023 — pushed the company to the higher end of its cost-cutting goal.
Representatives for General Motors GM+1.32% did not respond to requests for comment.
General Motors GM+1.32% shares nudged up almost 1% in midday trading Monday. The stock is up by more than 26% year-to-date.