GM Firing Hundreds While Bringing In Foreign Workers

General Motors is gearing up for several hundred layoffs, with the brunt of the culled positions pertaining to information technology (IT). This is interesting because the cuts come shortly after CEO Mary Barra touted the company’s pivot to allowing artificial intelligence to handle software development. However, we also know that the automaker is still hiring in the same fields that are seeing layoffs, often bringing in foreign workers from outside the country.

News of the layoffs circulated on forums before being covered by Bloomberg, which estimated that the automaker planned on eliminating 500-600 jobs starting this week. Most of these positions were located in Warren, Michigan, or Austin, Texas. Many pertain to vehicle software development, coding, telematics, cybersecurity, and other careers related to information technology.

“GM is transforming its Information Technology organization to better position the company for the future. 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 automaker stated.

However, we know that the company still has nearly 100 open positions related to software development and artificial intelligence. Perhaps more concerning is the prospect that some of these layoffs may have been done to help make way for cheap imported labor.

GM has numerous H1B applications still on the books for 2026, most of which look to be seeing software and engineering specialists to come to the exact same parts of the country that are seeing layoffs. In fact, GM is often considered one of the largest importers of visaed workers.

If we examine the company’s Labor Condition Applications (LCAs), we can clearly see that GM recently brought on countless employees to fill the very same positions that are now seeing hundreds of layoffs. It also looks keen to continue this trend through 2026.

We can clearly see that GM has at least 44 applications for Warren, Michigan, alone for this year. The listed jobs frequently pertain to software development, software testing, programming, engineering, and vehicle design. Another five H1Bs were slated for Austin, Texas.

All told, we know of the company having made at least 132 separate H1B Labor Condition Applications between January and June of 2026. Most of these are mostly six-figure positions located in Michigan and would assuredly have contributed to the current layoffs to some degree.

A spokesperson from the automaker indicated that they were not authorized to speak publicly about the layoffs. But why would they even want to when the most truthful answer would presumably require them to discuss laying off the native workforce to bring in cheaper foreign labor?

We expect companies to reevaluate their existing workforce. It’s something GM seems to do on an almost annual basis, typically focusing on individual departments. However, without some much-needed transparency and some rational explanations, this is still likely to end up being an incredibly bad look for General Motors.

Automakers have just spent the last several years raking in record-breaking profits while their customers have been stressing about the cost of living and swelling vehicle pricing. It’d be surprising to learn that customers would be hunky dory with the premise that one of America’s largest employers is using artificial intelligence and imported foreign labor to eliminate domestic jobs. These are already contentious issues and have only become more so over time.

[Images: General Motors; Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock]

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