Due to a changing economic climate, tech companies like Google and Apple have been laying off employees to cut costs and prepare for a potential recession. Meanwhile, automakers like GM have been taking advantage of this influx of talented workers by hiring them to develop the new age of digital vehicles.
According to a report from Detroit Free Press, GM has loosened up its hiring freeze to exploit the new surplus of skilled workers. This makes sense given that The General had a goal to hire 8,000 employees last year to help it focus on the development of the technology needed for electric vehicles. In fact, GM was looking to hire a number of software developers and engineers for its new end-to-end software platform, Ultifi. As a whole, this incursion of digital-focused employees will help the Detroit-based automaker further develop its EVs and self-driving technologies, like Super Cruise and Ultra Cruise.
“While this isn’t a major growth year from a hiring standpoint, we’re continuing to hire tech talent,” said GM spokeswoman Maria Raynal. “This includes some of the talent in the market due to the tech downsizing, particularly in areas such as EV development, software development and defined vehicle.”
“Previously, the driving experience depended primarily on the hardware of a vehicle,” Raynal said. “Now, as the industry moves to electric and autonomous vehicles, it relies largely on software development to create the technology, apps and over-the-air updates. Many of our openings in recent years have been in this area of the business.”
It’s worth noting that General Motors isn’t the only automaker jumping at this newfound opportunity. Ford, GM’s crosstown rival, has been hiring tech employees since last year in an effort to find workers with plenty of experience in that area.
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Comments
Uhmm, wouldn’t it be smarter to hire from companies that are known for good products? If I was the hiring manager and I saw on your resume that you were influential in the google glasses or windows 11, your resume is going strait to the trash pile.
You don’t lay off your best employees, so GM’s hiring the B-team. That’s been Detroit’s issue with computers forever.
Some who have been laid of are senior developers who have been with companies for years. Not just B-Team.
With how Silicon Valley operates these days, they probably laid off the A-team and kept the B-team 🤪.
That’s not necessarily true. I work for a large aerospace company where there ebbs and flows of staff is very dynamic. During one particular time where major staff cuts were being made the managers laid off all the young single guys. Guys with families or guys close to retirement were kept. Managers figured it would be a lot easier for young guys to land on their feet.
Another time the company wanted to reduce staff so they laid off everyone who was a contractor. I was the only employee on my team of 8. I put my notice in a few days later.
To assume that companies make intelligent choices on who to keep or who to let go is very naive.
As if GM is NOT a B team company.
Sam, this is not remotely true, at least as a generalization. MANY companies manage layoffs by reverse hire date (oldest employees stay, newer ones go), so the employees who came in and fixed the problems made by the older ones get laid off. Happened to me, which is why and when I left the world of software development (project manager).
Oh no, more woke-ness coming. I’m not sure they will positively influence GM’s car culture which is becoming more and more diluted all the time.
So they are going to hire these people who push their social agendas (woketivist programmers and developers) on others? Does GM know a lot of those whom they seek to hire from Silicon Valley politically do not mesh with the automotive industry, especially car lovers like us?
LOL
There are currently 600,000 job openings in IT in the USA. I don’t think they have the luxury of only hiring IT that loves cars.
Personally, I would not introduce that mindset into my company or my community for that matter.
Maybe they can hire that degreed genius that thinks chrome is a safety hazard, he sounds like a IT geek.