General Motors to lay off more than 1,000 software engineers, mostly in US

By David Welch

General Motors Co. is cutting more than 1,000 software engineers as the automaker moves to lean up its software and services organization, said a person familiar with the matter.

More than 600 of the layoffs will be in Michigan, the person said. The moves come two months after former Apple Inc. executives David Richardson and Baris Cetinok were promoted to senior vice president roles in the group.

“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,” GM said Monday in a statement confirming the cuts, without specifying how many people were affected. GM declined to say how much the reductions will reduce its overall software engineering workforce.

 

GM has been developing in-car software that increasingly operates more of a vehicle’s underlying systems, from battery management and driving characteristics to in-vehicle content displays, especially on the company’s newest electric models.

It has been hiring rapidly in software development for several years as part of its push into electric vehicles, self-driving cars and software-related services. The automaker has hoped that new services such as connecting customers to charging stations, digital content and other non-auto businesses would one day add billions of dollars in annual revenue.

The push into new software has also been problematic for GM. The company temporarily grounded sales of its Chevrolet Blazer electric SUV and has had issues with its Cadillac Lyriq EV, some tied to software glitches. 

With the Blazer, GM faced backlash from consumers by building its own in-vehicle infotainment system to replace Apple’s CarPlay. The carmaker had problems with the interior content screen, among other technology snafus.

GM shares were little changed at 9:33 a.m. in New York.