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☆ GM hires former Apple executive Abbott to lead software unit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 9 (Reuters) - General Motors Co (GM.N) on Tuesday named former Apple Inc (AAPL.O) executive Mike Abbott to lead a division that will bring together three software functions within the company. Abbott, whose appointment is effective from May 22, will spearhead development of vehicle and enterprise software technologies. Automakers, including GM and Ford Motor Co (F.N), have been increasingly ramping up their investment on technology and software services amid an electric-vehicle push, as they look to cash in on subscription-based services. At Apple, Abbott led a team responsible for the development of core infrastructure for all of the company's cloud-based services including iCloud, iMessage, Private Relay, Mail and account security. Bloomberg News had in March reported Abbott would step down from his role at the iPhone maker.

☆ GM Hires Former Apple Cloud Executive to Oversee Software
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Mike Colias | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Automakers and tech companies are locked in a battle over who gets control of the dashboard console. Photo illustration: George DownsGeneral Motors has hired a former Apple executive to lead a newly formed software unit, the latest in the auto maker’s efforts to reduce its reliance on Silicon Valley for in-car tech. Mike Abbott , vice president of Apple’s cloud services, will join GM later this month as executive vice president of software, in charge of developing both in-vehicle features and enterprise solutions, the automaker said Tuesday. He will report directly to GM Chief Executive Mary Barra .

☆ GM hires ex-Apple exec to lead new software unit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A sign with the General Motors quality mission statement stands in the lobby at the GM Warren Tech Center in Warren, Michigan. DETROIT – General Motors has hired former Apple executive Mike Abbott to lead a newly created software unit for the Detroit automaker. Abbott, former vice president of engineering for Apple's Cloud Services division, will join GM as executive vice president of software, effective May 22. Software, specifically monetizing it, is a major focus for automakers such as GM, as they eye reoccurring revenue opportunities such as subscriptions to boost profits. GM has a target to grow profit margins and double its revenue to about $280 billion by the end of this decade.

☆ Analysis: Battle for China's electric SUV market heats up at home and abroad
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The trend will spread abroad with growing exports of China-made electric SUVs. The market for SUVs has boomed in China over the past decade and now represents almost 40% of all cars sold, with 400 SUV models of all fuel types. Legacy automakers Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), BMW (BMWG.DE) and Toyota (7203.T) are counting on new electric SUVs to bolster China sales. Tesla and Renault (RENA.PA) have already been exporting their China-made electric SUVs to Europe on a large scale. Chinese automakers have their own plans to grow electric SUV sales to Europe.

☆ General Motors cuts several hundred full-time contract workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A sign with the General Motors quality mission statement stands in the lobby at the GM Warren Tech Center in Warren, Michigan. General Motors Co on Monday said it had cut several hundred full-time contract workers over the weekend including at its engineering hub in suburban Detroit, the latest effort by the U.S. automaker to streamline operations. The Wall Street Journal reported the job cuts earlier. GM said in April that about 5,000 salaried workers had opted for buyouts to leave the company. The offers cover 31,000 hourly workers and about 2,500 salaried workers.

☆ Why GM is killing the Chevy Bolt — America's cheapest EV — amid record sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

In this article GM Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTA Chevrolet Bolt EUV on display at the New York Auto Show, April 13, 2022. Scott Mlyn | CNBCDETROIT — After years of lackluster performance and a fire-provoked recall, the all-electric Chevrolet Bolt EV was finally gaining traction for General Motors . The Bolt EV would start at $26,595, followed by the Bolt EUV at $28,195. A 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV caught fire at a home in Cherokee County, Georgia on Sept. 13, 2021, according to the local fire department. Cherokee County Fire DepartmentStill, GM touted the Bolt EV as proof of the concept for its electric-powered future.

☆ GM raised guidance, but its stock fell. Why Wall Street isn't buying in
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

DETROIT – When a company beats Wall Street's earnings expectations and raises guidance amid recessionary fears and other economic concerns, you would expect the stock to rally. Wall Street analysts say eroding pricing power, labor concerns and challenges in producing electric vehicles, will make it harder for GM to perform at the profitability levels it has been. Record-high vehicle profits and prices, achieved during historically low vehicle inventory levels and resilient consumer demand, are starting to normalize. GM CFO Paul Jacobson said Tuesday that the company expects flat pricing compared to last year. He said consumers paid an average of $50,263 per vehicle in the U.S. during the quarter, off 1% from a year earlier.

☆ You can make your Mercedes EV go faster for $60 a month
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Mercedes-Benz electric vehicle owners in North America who want a little more power and speed can now buy 60 horsepower for just $60 a month or, on other models, 80 horsepower for $90 a month. Various automakers have touted the potential for recurring revenue from subscription features like this. The power-unleashing software upgrades are available through the Mercedes Me online store in the vehicles. The availability of downloadable upgrades and features allows Mercedes customers to continuously customize their vehicles to fit changing needs and preferences, Mercedes said in an announcement. Mercedes never wants customers to press a button and get an annoying “Subscribe for use” pop-up on the center screen.

WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - Chrysler-parent Stellantis NV (STLAM.MI) wants to cut approximately 3,500 hourly U.S. jobs and is offering voluntary exit packages, according to a United Auto Workers union letter made public Tuesday. A person briefed on the matter said the figure might be lower than the figure cited in the UAW letter. The action impacted about 1,350 workers at the Belvidere, Illinois, plant that built the Jeep Cherokee SUV and resulted in indefinite layoffs. The UAW letter said openings created by workers leaving would be filled by workers on indefinite layoff. Stellantis said in February that about 40,000 U.S. hourly workers were eligible for profit sharing.

☆ GM earnings much better than expected as revenue climbs 11%
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —General Motors reported a much better-than-expected first quarter, and said it will do even better than it expected for full-year earnings. But it also said it believes car prices could soon start to retreat from near-record highs. It also said it now expects to earnings between interest and taxes to be between $11 billion and $13 billion for the year. New car prices have started to decline slightly, but remain near-record levels. GM reported a 4% increase in the number of cars sold globally to 864,000, but a 7% increase in the revenue to per vehicle sold.

☆ GM to end production of electric Chevy Bolt, its first mass-market EV, later this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Steve Fecht for ChevroletDETROIT – General Motors plans to stop production of its electric Chevrolet Bolt models by the end of this year, CEO Mary Barra told investors Tuesday when discussing the company's first-quarter earnings. The Chevy Bolt EV and EUV, a larger version of the car, make up the vast majority of the company's electric vehicle sales to date. General Motors CEO Mary Barra unveiled the Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle during the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. But Bolt sales never caught on as well as many executives hoped, as EV sales overall remained minuscule outside of Tesla . The Vermont State Police released this photo of the 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV that caught fire on July 1, 2021 in the driveway of state Rep. Timothy Briglin, a Democrat.

☆ General Motors raises 2023 guidance as first-quarter earnings beat expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The new range is between $8.4 billion and $9.9 billion, down from $8.7 billion to $10.1 billion. DETROIT — General Motors on Tuesday raised key guidance for 2023 after reporting first-quarter results that topped Wall Street's top- and bottom-line forecasts. Its net income during the first quarter, however, was down by roughly 18% to $2.3 billion compared to a year earlier. CFO Paul Jacobson said the company felt confident in raising its adjusted earnings guidance after first-quarter results came in above the company's internal expectations, including continued demand for high-end models. GM's first-quarter results included adjusted earnings of $3.8 billion, down 6% from a year earlier.

☆ GM to end production of Chevrolet Bolt EV later this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] A close-up view of the Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle is seen at Stewart Chevrolet in Colma, California, U.S., October 3, 2017. "We have progressed so far that it's now time to plan to end the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EU production, which will happen at the very end of the year," GM CEO Mary Barra told investors on Tuesday. The Bolt, GM's first mass market EV, still accounts for more than 90% of all U.S. GM EV sales. The Bolt was preceded by the Chevrolet Volt -- a plug-in hybrid that GM ended production in 2019. The recall prompted GM to halt Bolt production and sales for more than six months.

☆ GM says 5,000 salaried workers will take buyouts, expects $1 billion charge in first quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

GM CFO Paul Jacobson said Tuesday the automaker expects to take a roughly $1 billion charge during the quarter as a result of the program. The headcount reduction was part of the company's plans to cut $2 billion in structural costs over the next two years. The voluntary buyouts were offered to a majority of the company's 58,000 U.S. white-collar employees. To qualify for the program, salaried employees needed to have worked at the company for five years as of June 30 this year. GM announced the $2 billion cost-cutting program in January, saying between 30% and 50% of the savings were expected during 2023.

☆ Welcome to the era of viral AI generated ‘news’ images
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

None of these things actually happened, but AI-generated images depicting them did go viral online over the past week. The images ranged from obviously fake to, in some cases, compellingly real, and they fooled some social media users. There are also concerns that AI-generated images could be used for harassment, or to further drive divided internet users apart. Eliot Higgins, founder and creative director of the investigative group Bellingcat, posted fake images of former President Donald Trump to Twitter last week. Many of the recent viral AI-generated images were created by a tool called Midjourney, a less than year-old platform that allows users to create images based on short text prompts.

☆ Welcome to the era of viral AI generated 'news' images
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

☆ GM plans to phase out Apple CarPlay in EVs, with Google’s help
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto systems allow users to mirror their smartphone screens in a vehicle’s dashboard display. GM is designing the on-board navigation and infotainment systems for future EVs in partnership with Alphabet’s Google. GM’s Chevrolet brand in the past boasted of offering more models with CarPlay or Android Auto than any other brand. GM plans to continue offering Apple CarPlay and Android Auto mirroring systems in its combustion models. Owners of vehicles equipped with the mirroring technologies will still be able to use the systems, GM said.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto systems allow users to mirror their smartphone screens in a vehicle's dashboard display. GM is designing the on-board navigation and infotainment systems for future EVs in partnership with Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google. GM's Chevrolet brand in the past boasted of offering more models with CarPlay or Android Auto than any other brand. GM said the future infotainment systems will offer applications such as Spotify's (SPOT.N) music service, Audible and other services that many drivers now access via smartphones. GM plans to continue offering Apple CarPlay and Android Auto mirroring systems in its combustion models.

☆ Fact Check-Image of Elon Musk and Mary Barra holding hands is AI-generated
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

An image appearing to show the CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, and the CEO of General Motors, Mary Barra, holding hands is not authentic and was created by artificial intelligence. The image seemingly shows Musk dressed in a black denim jacket and wearing a black tie holding hands with Barra who is wearing a black leather jacket. Lovett told Reuters that he created the image via the website Midjourney – an AI-image generator that creates images via text prompts. “In the case of the Elon Musk image with Mary Barra, it tends to give them similar facial structures and almost melds them together in a way that makes them appear as though they were siblings.”VERDICTMissing context. The image was created via the AI-generating website, Midjourney, the creator of the image told Reuters.

☆ GM CEO meets with senators on self-driving cars
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The Cruise Origin autonomous vehicle, a Honda and General Motors self-driving car partnership, is seen during its unveiling in San Francisco, California, U.S. January 21, 2020. REUTERS/Stephen Lam/File PhotoWASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - General Motors (GM.N) CEO Mary Barra met with two key senators on Thursday as the Detroit automaker pushes for legislation to speed deployment of self-driving vehicles on U.S. roads. He added that Barra discussed with the lawmakers "the future of mobility -- including autonomous vehicles." GM wants to deploy its Origin vehicle, which has subway-like doors and no steering wheels. NHTSA said it received notices of incidents in which self-driving Cruise vehicles "may engage in inappropriately hard braking or become immobilized."

☆ General Motors' China business is hurting, and it's not just because of Covid
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

He purchased his Nio over models from rival Chinese automakers Xpeng , Li Auto and IM Motors. GM's operations in the country are much larger than those of its crosstown rival Ford Motor, for example. Equity income from GM's Chinese operations and joint ventures has fallen 67% since its peak of more than $2 billion in 2014 and 2015. And the rising quality of domestic-made electric vehicles helped support — and tap — growing nationalistic pride among China's consumers. In February, Ford named Sam Wu, a former Whirlpool executive who joined the automaker in October, as president and chief executive of its China operations, starting March 1.

☆ GM offers buyouts to 'majority' of U.S. salaried workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The "Voluntary Separation Program," or VSP, will be offered to all U.S. salaried employees who have spent five or more years at the company as of June 30. Outside of the U.S., the automaker will offer buyouts to executives with at least two years of time at the company. GM expects to take a pretax charge of up to $1.5 billion related to the buyouts, according to a public filing Thursday. The last time GM offered such a large buyout program was for roughly 18,000 North American salaried employees in 2018-2019. GM announced the $2 billion cost-cutting program in January, saying between 30% and 50% of the savings were expected during 2023.

☆ GM employees are ‘strongly encouraged’ to consider its voluntary separation program
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The voluntary separation program will be offered to all US salaried employees with at least five years of service and global executives that have been with the company for at least two years, a GM spokesperson told CNN. In a statement, the company said that employees are “strongly encouraged to consider” the program. A person familiar with the plans told CNN that those job cuts would affect a few hundred white-collar employees globally. GM has 167,000 employees globally, with 124,000 in North America. GM (GM) has said it will invest $35 billion between now and 2025 in the shift to EVs.

☆ GM’s EV Push Stalls Amid Slow Rollouts for GMC Hummer, Cadillac Lyriq
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Mike Colias | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

General Motors Co. Chief Executive Mary Barra has called 2023 a breakout year for the company’s electric-vehicle push. It is off to a slow start. The Detroit auto maker is dealing with the slower-than-expected rollout of two high-profile electric vehicles, the GMC Hummer EV and the Cadillac Lyriq, increasing pressure on Ms. Barra after GM lost EV market share to rivals last year.

☆ The job cuts by companies like Uber and GM targeting low performers show CEOs are taking a hard-line approach to management
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Rebecca Knight | Marguerite Ward | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

To wit, GM this week said it was axing roughly 500 salaried positions in performance-related job cuts. Business advisors who work with executives told Insider that companies conduct what are sometimes called "quiet layoffs" for two main reasons. Job cuts send a potent messageGM this week said it was axing roughly 500 salaried positions in performance-related job cuts. He recently told Insider that the widespread layoffs in tech are more likely due to companies parroting each other rather than necessary cost-cutting. In other words, a rival's announcement of job cuts gives other companies reason to follow suit.

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