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

Detroit – General Motors (GM) is laying off more than 1,000 software engineers as the automaker moves to make its software and services organisation leaner, a person familiar with the matter said.

More than 600 of the layoffs will be in Michigan, the person said. The move comes two months after former Apple 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 prioritise the investments that will have the greatest impact,” GM said on Aug 19 in a statement confirming the cuts, without specifying how many people were affected.

GM declined to say how much the reductions will cut 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 to driving characteristics and 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 been problematic for GM.

The company temporarily grounded sales of its Chevrolet Blazer electric sport utility vehicle and has had issues with its Cadillac Lyriq electric vehicle, 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. BLOOMBERG