It all started typically with all this HYPE:
...and then
THE REAL NITTY-GRITTY
Source: Detroit Free Press
GM announces closure of Arizona IT Innovation Center, resulting in 940 job cuts
Jamie L. LaReauDetroit Free Press
. . .The news comes almost a week after the automaker said it gave notice to about 200 engineers elsewhere that their positions were being eliminated.
On Wednesday, GM notified the 1,029 nonunion employees at the Arizona IT Innovation Center of the decision to cut most of the jobs there, followed by a companywide email, which was obtained by the Detroit Free Press.
"Today we announced the difficult decision to cease IDT (information and digital technology) operations at the Arizona IT Innovation Center at the end of October. This decision was not an easy one, but it will help to optimize our innovation center footprint and gain the efficiencies and effectiveness we need to have to continue to support the company," wrote Stacy Lynett, GM's vice president of Information and Digital Technology.
- Lynett wrote that all information and digital technology jobs are being eliminated at the center to streamline operations so that GM can focus on its growth areas, which she did not further explain.
- Those employees who lose their jobs can apply for other openings at GM, she wrote, and GM will provide outplacement support. Those with at least one year with the company will be eligible for a severance package, she wrote.
- The rest, about 940, will be let go.
- The closure is not for cost-cutting purposes, he said, but rather to streamline efficiencies.
"We're rationalizing the number of IT innovation centers we have in the country," Kelly said.
- "We're keeping the other three.
- But as we look at efficiencies there were some redundancies and that's why we decided to remove one of the centers."
The Arizona center, located in Chandler, about 5 miles southeast of Tempe, opened in 2014, according to GM's website. It "supports GM’s IT needs including web technologies, end-user applications, dealer and factory systems and vehicle technology," the website said.
- GM’s three other IT centers are in Warren, Michigan; Austin, Texas, and another in suburban Atlanta.
The move comes after GM had been expanding its presence at the Chandler center. In a post on the city of Chandler's website in February 2022, it noted GM was looking to hire several hundred employees for software-based positions at the center saying,
- "GM selected Chandler in part for its strong local workforce when it opened the site in 2014, and the company has found success recruiting from area universities, as many of the available positions are entry level."
Lynett said in the email that GM will be formulating a plan to transition some of the work that was being done at the Arizona IT Center to other centers.
"As we continue reshaping the organization, we will be working with individual leaders on a plan to transition the work and knowledge," Lynett wrote in the GM email.
"This includes realigning teams and updates to employees with a leader in Arizona. I am confident that together we can determine how to continue to deliver our most critical initiatives."
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- Throttling down: General Motors is closing its Arizona IT Innovation Center in Chandler and “giving a pink slip to 940 workers at the end of October.”
- Blindsided: The “announcement stunned city officials,” as well as workers at the “170,000-square-foot facility on West Geronimo Place.” Calling it a “complete surprise,” Chandler Development Director
- Micah Miranda, said, “We’ve recently been working with their local team about higher education partnerships, mentoring, and a promotional video highlighting Chandler’s Price Corridor.”
- Worker reaction: “I called my manager immediately after [the announcement] and even she didn’t know it was coming,” a worker “posted on social media.”
- Driving the decision: “The website autonews.com said it was told by a GM spokesman the closing was part of an effort ‘to rebalance our engineering resources to better align with our growth strategy.’”
- The road ahead: The Arizonan reports that city officials “apparently will try to help the affected salaried employees… A city spokeswoman said she was not aware what plans GM has for the site but noted that the company leases the building.” https://bit.ly/
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