GM executes major IT restructuring to pivot workforce toward artificial intelligence

General Motors has confirmed the layoff of approximately 600 salaried employees, representing more than 10 per cent of its Information Technology department. The automaker describes this move as a deliberate skills swap designed to clear out roles where expertise no longer aligns with strategic goals, specifically to make room for staff with stronger artificial intelligence capabilities.

In an emailed statement, the company framed the layoffs as a necessary step to transform its Information Technology organisation and better position the business for the future. While GM did not provide granular specifics on the roles being eliminated, sources familiar with the situation indicate that these are not all permanent headcount reductions. The company remains actively hiring for the new skill sets required to rebuild the IT organisation from the ground up.

The specific technical capabilities GM is prioritising for new hires include AI-native development, data engineering and analytics, cloud-based engineering, agent and model development, prompt engineering, and new AI workflows. In practical terms, the automaker is looking for people who know how to build with AI from the ground up, designing systems and training models, rather than simply using AI as a productivity tool within existing workflows.

This restructuring follows the appointment of Sterling Anderson, co-founder of the autonomous trucking startup Aurora, as chief product officer in May 2025. Anderson has been consolidating disparate technology businesses into one organisation, a process that saw three top executives leave the software team in November to facilitate the consolidation. These departures included Baris Cetinok, Dave Richardson, and Barak Turovsky, the former GM chief AI officer.

GM has filled leadership gaps with new AI-focused hires, including Behrad Toghi, formerly of Apple, as AI lead, and Rashed Haq, formerly of Cruise, as vice president of autonomous vehicles. This move comes after the company cut approximately 1,000 software workers in August 2024 and has laid off white-collar employees across several departments over the past 18 months to focus resources on high-priority initiatives.

For the industry, GM's restructuring is a signal of what enterprise AI adoption actually looks like in practice. It demonstrates a shift from simply adding tools to existing teams to fundamentally rebuilding workforces to support the demands of large-enterprise AI, with a clear focus on agent development and AI-native workflows.