Share Price of Automotive Giant Plummets After Sweeping Technology Overhaul

On May 11, General Motors' stock price plummeted by 4.45% to $75.29 after the company confirmed it had cut around 600 salaried positions in its IT department, accounting for over 10% of its tech workforce. This move, initially reported by Bloomberg and later verified by General Motors in a statement to TechCrunch, marks a significant overhaul of the company's technology operations. According to the company, this restructuring is aimed at positioning General Motors for future success, with a focus on transforming its Information Technology organization.

Sources familiar with the matter have revealed that while the company is reducing its workforce in certain areas, it is also aggressively recruiting new talent with expertise in areas such as AI-native software development, cloud infrastructure engineering, and machine learning model creation. This shift in focus indicates that General Motors is seeking professionals who can develop AI systems from scratch, rather than simply utilizing existing AI tools for incremental gains. The company's goal is to build a team capable of creating autonomous systems, including autonomous agent development and prompt engineering capabilities.

This latest development is part of a larger trend of workforce adjustments at General Motors, which has been underway for the past 18 months. In August 2024, the company eliminated around 1,000 software engineering positions, choosing to focus on strategic initiatives instead. Since then, the company has continued to reduce its headcount across various departments, redirecting resources towards artificial intelligence and advanced software capabilities.

The appointment of Sterling Anderson as chief product officer in May 2025 marked a significant turning point in this transformation. Anderson, co-founder of autonomous trucking company Aurora, brought extensive experience in the self-driving vehicle sector to the role. Under his leadership, General Motors' technology operations have undergone significant changes, including the consolidation of previously scattered operations into a unified division. This restructuring has led to the departure of several senior executives, including Baris Cetinok, Dave Richardson, and Barak Turovsky, who left the company in November.

To replace these departed executives, General Motors has been hiring AI-specialized professionals, including Behrad Toghi, formerly of Apple, who joined the company as AI lead in October. Rashed Haq, who has five years of experience in AI and robotics initiatives at Cruise, General Motors' discontinued self-driving division, was also recruited as vice president for autonomous vehicle development. These appointments demonstrate General Motors' commitment to reconstructing its technology operations with artificial intelligence at its core. As the company's stock price closed at $75.29 on May 11, down $3.51 from the previous session, it is clear that General Motors is undergoing a significant transformation, one that will have far-reaching implications for its future success.