General Motors quietly laid off about 500 to 600 employees this week in a sweeping global shakeup that reportedly blindsided workers with unsettling emails, abrupt virtual meetings and growing fears that artificial intelligence is reshaping the automaker’s workforce.
Many of the affected employees — largely IT workers in Michigan, Texas and other locations around the globe — learned their fate during brief meetings that some workers described as cold and scripted.
“No appreciation or empathy. No questions. Nothing,” one laid-off employee who spent more than a decade at GM told CNBC.
“GM is transforming its Information Technology organization to better position the company for the future,” a spokesperson for the Detroit-based auto giant told The Post.
“As part of that work, we have made the difficult decision to eliminate certain roles globally. We are grateful for the contributions of the employees affected and are committed to supporting them through this transition.”
The cuts came as the Detroit automaker restructures its information technology operations and hunts for workers with more specialized skill sets, including expertise in AI.
Workers inside the company said they had spent months being encouraged to use AI tools more heavily in their day-to-day work before the layoffs hit Monday.
“They’re going to push AI for everyday work and everything else,” a veteran programmer and data scientist who lost their job told CNBC.
“I’ve seen it firsthand. It can make you much more productive, as a programmer. It can really help you get more work done, but AI isn’t going to do you any good if you don’t know the business.”
Artificial intelligence played a role in the restructuring, though it was not the sole reason behind the cuts.
The layoffs were part of a broader global workforce review and were unrelated to return-to-office mandates, according to people familiar with the matter.
Not every employee was notified in a brief virtual meeting. Some workers had direct conversations with managers depending on team size and location.
Some workers were remote employees, though the cuts stretched across multiple countries.
The shakeup underscores anxiety spreading across corporate America as companies embrace artificial intelligence while slashing jobs.
Tech giants, including Amazon, Meta, Oracle and Block, have all been announcing layoffs while ramping up investments in AI technology.
Even after this week’s cuts, GM was still advertising roughly 80 open IT positions Tuesday, including jobs tied to AI, autonomous vehicles and motorsports.
The layoffs affected workers across a broad range of seniority levels.
According to severance documents reviewed by CNBC, employees with one to four years at GM will receive two months of severance pay, while workers with 12 years or more will receive six months’ worth.
Affected workers were also offered lump-sum healthcare payments ranging from $2,000 to $6,000, along with mental health services and career-placement assistance.
Unused vacation and sick time, however, was forfeited unless protected under state law.
Employees were also instructed to return company equipment and, in some cases, company vehicles.
