US Automaker GM to Lay Off 1,000 Employees

Reduction Focused on Software and Services Sector... 1.3% of Total Workforce

General Motors (GM), a U.S. automaker, has laid off more than 1,000 employees worldwide, primarily in its software and services divisions.

On the 19th (local time), CNBC reported, citing sources, that GM notified about 1,000 employees of layoffs that morning, including approximately 600 employees working at its Tech Campus near its Detroit headquarters.

The scale of these layoffs represents about 1.3% of GM’s total workforce of 76,000 employees. The large-scale reduction focused on the software and services division came less than six months after Mike Abbott, a former Apple executive who led GM’s software and services business, left the company in March due to health reasons.

GM stated, "As we build the future of the company, we need to accelerate our pace and simplify the business to deliver excellence, making bold choices and prioritizing investments in ways that have the greatest impact. Accordingly, we are reducing some teams within the software and services organization."

This round of layoffs at GM draws attention as the automotive industry undertakes cost-cutting amid fears of an industrial downturn. GM is also considering restructuring its business operations in China, where it faces difficulties due to sluggish sales. Additionally, this move is seen as part of resource reallocation as the industry makes large-scale new investments in electric vehicles and software-centric automotive fields.