AI is "devouring" white-collar jobs in Detroit! The three major car companies have already laid off more than 20,000 employees.

With the continuous development of artificial intelligence (AI), it may exacerbate a major trend that is becoming increasingly apparent in the US's major car manufacturers - the elimination of white-collar employees. According to corporate public documents and employment data, the three major US automakers - Ford Motor Company (F.US), General Motors Company (GM.US), Stellantis (STLA.US) - have collectively cut more than 20,000 US salaried positions in recent years, accounting for 19% of their total white-collar workforce. The reasons for layoffs vary among the car companies, but overall they are related to the continuous technological changes in the automotive industry, including software-defined vehicles (SDV), autonomous driving, electric vehicles, and the recent rise of AI. The largest US automaker, General Motors Company, has been the most aggressive in its layoffs. From 2022 to last year, General Motors Company cut about 11,000 white-collar positions in the US. Prior to these layoffs, General Motors Company had gone through an expansion phase, with its US white-collar workforce increasing from 48,000 in 2020 to 58,000 in 2022. Ford Motor Company and Stellantis, on the other hand, have taken a more gradual approach to layoffs. Since reaching its peak in salaried employee numbers in 2020, Ford Motor Company has cut about 5,300 employees, with its US white-collar workforce dropping to about 30,700 last year. Stellantis reduced its white-collar workforce from 15,000 in 2020 to about 11,000. The total number of white-collar employees of these three automakers peaked at about 102,000 in 2022 and had declined by 13% to 88,700 by the end of last year. These car manufacturers had previously explained their layoffs using reasons such as "transformation," "bold decisions," "cost cutting," "strengthening," or "increasing efficiency." Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley stated in July last year, "AI will replace literally half of white-collar jobs in the US, leaving a large number of white-collar workers behind." Gad Levanon, Chief Economist at Burning Glass Institute, believes that the jobs most easily replaced by AI are administrative and more repetitive office jobs, such as finance and information technology positions, including programming work. He said, "Many white-collar workers will lose their jobs because AI can automate some tasks." However, he added that some job losses will be offset by new jobs created in emerging key areas of the automotive industry, such as autonomous driving, cybersecurity, and software-defined vehicles, "I believe this will be a major trend in the next 10 to 20 years." According to insiders, General Motors Company has further laid off 500 to 600 salaried employees globally this week, mainly focusing on its IT business departments in Texas and Michigan. Insiders stated that some layoffs were related to changes in labor demand brought about by AI. The significant decrease in the number of white-collar employees at General Motors Company before this round of layoffs is also related to its gradual closure and ultimate termination of the Cruise autonomous taxi (robotaxi) business, as well as ongoing human resources assessments led by General Motors Company CEO Mary Barra. Speaking of senior personnel changes within the company in January, Barra said, "Sometimes, the person who takes you to point A is not necessarily the person who can take you to point B." However, at the same time, General Motors Company is increasingly recruiting AI-related positions and encouraging employees, including those in the IT department, to use its AI platform. This trend is reflected by several current and former employees as well as the company's recruitment website. A senior programmer and data scientist at General Motors Company who was laid off this week said, "They are pushing AI to be used in daily work and everything else." "I've seen it with my own eyes. As a programmer, it can indeed make you much more efficient, and help you get more work done. But if you don't understand the business itself, AI can't help you." However, the reduction of white-collar positions among the "Detroit Big Three" does not necessarily reflect the situation across the entire America's Car-Mart, Inc. industry. According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in the US motor vehicle manufacturing industry only decreased by 0.2% from 2022 to last year, to 285,800. This data also includes white-collar and hourly positions. Not all automakers are cutting white-collar positions in the US. Toyota Motor Corp. Sponsored ADR (TM.US) reported that its US white-collar workforce grew by about 31% from 2020 to 2025, reaching approximately 47,500 employees. Ford Motor Company, General Motors Company, and Stellantis are currently still hiring for some positions. According to data from the recruitment websites of the three major carmakers, they currently have over 2,000 open positions in the US. Approximately 400 of these are AI-related, with General Motors Company alone recruiting for more than 250 AI-related positions. Stellantis CEO Antonio Falasca is leading the full recovery of the company, including a global cost-cutting plan. He stated that the company plans to add over 2,000 white-collar positions in North America. Lenny LaRocca, Head of the Americas Automotive Business at KPMG, said that automakers need to carefully handle their relationships with employees when implementing an AI strategy. He said, "They really need to think about how to adapt to AI and use it to improve efficiency and profitability." "I don't think the focus should just be on reducing the number of employees. I think the focus should be more on how to do work better, more innovatively, and how to increase speed." Gregory Emerson, Managing Director and Senior Partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), recently pointed out in an article that as AI develops, job roles are rapidly evolving, requiring workers to acquire new skills. BCG predicts that in five years - and even further into the future - as AI becomes more widespread, 10% to 15% of jobs in the US may be eliminated, and in the next two to three years, 50% to 55% of jobs in the US will be reshaped by AI. In a report co-authored with others, Gregory Emerson wrote, "This transformation has already begun and will accelerate as AI becomes more widespread." "Companies that cut jobs beyond the actual replacement capacity of AI will see a decline in productivity, loss of institutional knowledge, and key talents leaving. Those companies that fail to completely rethink their way of working will see competitors grow faster, and with higher profitability."