GM cutting 1,000 software jobs, including 600 at Mich. tech center

General Motors is eliminating more than 1,000 jobs in its global software and services organization, according to a source with knowledge of the move.

The job cuts include about 600 employees at the automaker's Global Technical Center in Warren, Mich., near Detroit, the source said.

A GM spokesperson confirmed the cuts without saying how many jobs were affected.

"These changes are the result of a thoughtful effort to simplify our organization, so we are optimized for speed and excellence," Baris Cetinok, senior vice president of software and services product management, program management and design, and Dave Richardson, senior vice president of software and services engineering, wrote in a memo dated Aug. 19 and viewed by Automotive News.

GM faces increased competition in the U.S. and globally, Cetinok and Richardson wrote.

"As we help build GM's bold vision for the future, we must make bold choices that enable us to move faster, pivot when needed, and prioritize investing in what will have the greatest impact," the memo said. "The resulting changes reflected these exact things: shifting resources to our highest-priority work, simplifying team structures including flattening hierarchies, and avoiding duplication."

Cetinok and Richardson were promoted in June to lead GM's software and services division after Mike Abbott, a former Apple Inc. executive hired last year, resigned for health reasons. Both also worked at Apple during their careers.

The cuts come about a year after GM closed one of its four U.S. information technology offices, cutting more than 900 jobs in Arizona. The company has focused on expanding its software talent in recent years as the company invests in electrification, autonomy, technology and in-vehicle services. GM has said software and services could generate as much as $25 billion in revenue by 2030.

"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," a GM spokesperson said in a statement. "As a result, we're reducing certain teams within the Software and Services organization. We are grateful to those who helped establish a strong foundation that positions GM to lead moving forward."

Employees laid off this month will be offered severance based on the length of their tenure with GM, the source said.