General Motors and CEO Mary Barra have worked tirelessly to reverse the stigma found at the automaker’s culture. It’s not a black and white picture anymore. GM prides itself on diversity, engineering plus the latest connectivity and electrification technology.
Rather than see talent ship out to Silicon Valley, GM has worked hard to keep talent not only in Michigan but in the city of Detroit, too. Barra appeared on CNBC to discuss battling the city’s “brain drain”, and explained just a few of the things GM has done to counter it.
GM has donated over $27 million to Detroit, and the automaker continues to work with several local high schools to improve graduation rates.
Barra said “we know that is still not good enough, but a great thing that is happening now is that with the state, the city and local businesses, we are all working together” to improve schools.
As for future jobs? They’ll be right in the heart of Detroit, especially as technology and engineering continue to grow substantially in the areas of autonomous driving and alternative fuel.
“General Motors is dedicated to leading in this area, but doing it in a safe fashion … I would say though that our core business of cars, trucks and crossovers that you buy and own is going to be our business for a very long time,” Barra concluded.
Comment
I am of one of those people that moved a silicon valley company to work in downtown Detroit with GM just recently. I must say that for the most part, it has been has been a surprisingly positive experience.