Axed GM employees claim they were dumped in cold, scripted virtual meetings: No appreciation or empathy

General Motors quietly laid off about 500 to 600 employees this week in a sweeping global shakeup that reportedly blindsided workers with unsettling emails, abrupt virtual meetings and growing fears that artificial intelligence is reshaping the automaker’s workforce.Many of the affected employees — largely IT workers in Michigan, Texas and other locations around the globe — learned their fate during brief meetings that some workers described as cold and scripted.“No appreciation or empathy.No questions.

Nothing,” one laid-off employee who spent more than a decade at GM told CNBC.“GM is transforming its Information Technology organization to better position the company for the future,” a spokesperson for the Detroit-based auto giant told The Post.“As part of that work, we have made the difficult decision to eliminate certain roles globally.We are grateful for the contributions of the employees affected and are committed to supporting them through this transition.”The cuts came as the Detroit automaker restructures its information technology operations and hunts for workers with more specialized skill sets, including expertise in AI.Workers inside the company said they had spent months being encouraged to use AI tools more heavily in their day-to-day work before the layoffs hit Monday.“They’re going to push AI for everyday work and everything else,” a veteran programmer and data scientist who lost their job told CNBC.“I’ve seen it firsthand.

It can make you much more productive, as a programmer.It can really help you get more work done, but AI isn’t going to do you any good if you don’t know the business.”Artificial intelligence played a role in the restructuring, though it was not the sole reason behind the cuts.The layoffs were part of a broader global workforce review and were unrelated to return-to-office mandates, according to people familiar with the matter.Not every employee was notified in a brief virtual meeting.

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