General Motors has eliminated approximately 600 salaried positions from its information technology division, representing more than 10% of that department, as part of what the automaker describes as a deliberate "skills swap." The layoffs are not intended as a one-for-one replacement, indicating a net reduction in headcount, though GM maintains it is simultaneously recruiting IT professionals with expertise in artificial intelligence. The company is specifically seeking candidates skilled in AI-native development, data engineering and analytics, cloud-based engineering, agent and model development, prompt engineering, and new AI workflows. GM's focus is on hiring individuals capable of building AI systems from the ground up, including designing architecture, training models, and engineering data pipelines, rather than simply using AI as a productivity tool.
The job losses extend beyond GM across the automotive industry. An analysis by CNBC found that Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis have collectively cut more than 20,000 U.S. salaried positions from recent employment peaks this decade, representing approximately 19% of their combined workforce. While multiple factors contribute to these reductions, industry observers link the cuts broadly to technological changes, with artificial intelligence playing an increasingly prominent role. Meanwhile, companies across the sector are aggressively pursuing AI integration, though some engineers and founders privately acknowledge that not all businesses have yet identified clear applications for the technology.
One company that appears to have found a profitable use case is Samsara. The firm spent the past decade equipping commercial trucks with interior cameras for driver monitoring, theft prevention, and liability documentation. Samsara has now leveraged that extensive dataset to train a proprietary model capable of detecting potholes and assessing the rate of their deterioration. The company is marketing this product to municipal governments and has secured contracts with several cities, including Chicago.