General Motors lays off 'several hundred' contract workers at Warren Tech Center, elsewhere

DETROIT, Mich. (FOX 2) - General Motors has laid off hundreds of workers at its Tech Center, a spokesperson for the automaker said.

"Several hundred" contractor positions were cut within the global product development organization, the individual said. They were notified over the weekend. The job cuts, which included but were not limited to, the Warren Tech Center near 12 Mile.

"A small number of contractors have departed the company, and those impacted were notified beginning April 29," read a statement sent to FOX 2.

GM did not say what prompted the layoffs.

The automaker previously said it would be offering buyouts to 5,000 white-collar workers as it sought to trim $2 billion from its annual expenses by the end of the year. The move was expected to get them half of the way.

The layoffs at the tech center could further trim back costs.

"I feel bad about a lot of these folks who are doing good work building and designing and selling and servicing vehicles that Americans want and are buying," said Patrick Anderson, the CEO of the Anderson Automotive Group. "And their jobs are being eliminated in many cases to make room and to save money for vehicles that Americans haven’t yet decided they want to buy."

RELATED: GM seeks to stave off forced layoffs with buyout offers

The announcement comes following a separate batch of announced buyouts for 3,500 hourly jobs at Stellantis, whose operations include Fiat-Chrysler. The local union chapter said the workers would exit the company by the end of the year.

The layoffs come as the industry continues to pivot to more electric vehicles as it seeks to scale up the country's infrastructure - as well as its own supply of hybrid and battery-powered vehicles. 

"Cars have something like 3,500 parts in a current internal combustion engine vehicle. I don’t know the exact number that’s going to be in electric vehicles, but I know it’s a fraction of that," said Janell Townsend, the chair of Oakland University's management and marketing department.

Townsend said that as EV grows, there's less of a demand for mechanical engineers.

"The car companies have to be careful though. I do think they’re trying to be more deliberate this time around in the way they’re going about the attrition that’s needed," Townsend said, adding that we will continue to see layoffs and buyouts in the months and years ahead.