From a Reddit thread:
Long but worth it. GM. What are you doing? : r/GeneralMotors
"I was a GM leader and was "Performance Managed" out of my job about 4 months ago. Let say to start out that I'm not bitter or angry about what happen to me personally. I hope that sharing my experience and my observations will find its way to someone who really wants to hear it. I'm talking to GM SLT here for the most part. After being there forever 5 years, I just can't understand how THIS is the way they see a GM of the future.
As a former leader at GM, I was able to see behind the curtains that many individual contributors (ICs) did not have access to. The reason I joined GM was because it had a reputation for treating its people well, being inclusive and having good wages as compared to many other auto makers. It was all about the culture. I have been in IT for over 20 years and in IT management more than 15 of those years. I understand how to treat people, how to motivate and inspire people to work hard and give more. I've always believed that to get the most out of someone, you have to show them respect, appreciation, be willing to step up and fight for them. Someone that understands and appreciates the challenges, hard work and desires for growth and reward.
Something happened at GM that I still don't really understand. There was a dramatic shift in the way the IT team was led. It started with the hiring of a new Chief HR officer. I've seen it happen in other companies. New HR leader means change. Usually not change that makes people happy. And this was the case at GM. First it was a shift in remote work vs in office work. It was very poorly received by everyone, especially IT. Many had been hired during the pandemic and had been remote for 2+ years. But we were told we could not be successful unless we were in the office. This was a complete shift from the high praise we received about how much we had accomplished in the prior two years. Suddenly, it wasn't good enough and we had to be in the office so we could be more productive. And the simple fact is, it has not been more productive. Return to office, in the end, was just the beginning and the least of our problems. At the end of 2022, the second sign of things to come was when anyone rated as "minus" in the TeamGM performance rating was dismissed. Prior to 2022, anyone given this rating was given time to improve or moved to a more fitting role. New performance management culture did not provide those options anymore. Anyone not meeting expectations was out. A harsh shift in how performance was addressed. The hard part as a manager was, we had no waring. One minute I was counselling someone on how to improve and the next day, they were let go. No one saw it coming.
Then came VSP, Voluntary Separation Packages. Over 700 IT professionals took the early buy out and left. This included most of the top-level leaders in IT. The sign of things to come was clear. Out with the old, in with the new. Shortly after, Abbott arrived. All impressed with himself being a former Apple executive. It might sound like I'm being petty about this but trust me, everyone saw the arrogance and attitude and he wasted no time in closing the AZ IT center. No warning, no reasons, not relocation of critical assets. Gone. And the worst part was, he treated it like it was no big deal. Heartless, cold and calculated. Abbott started hiring all his friends from Apple. One SVP after the next. Not one with Automotive background. All based in silicon valley. But when questioned about an IT center in CA, it was dismissed and denied. Right up until they announced the brand new IT center in CA like it magically appeared out of thin air. After putting in all of his new leadership, Abbott had to resign due to health issues. His damage to GM was done and with it, the downfall of GM IT as a respected organization.
After Abbott's departure, a couple new IT leaders were named. (Abbott hires from Apple). One for Vehicle Software and the other for Software and Services. On the S&S side, we got D. Richardson as our new leader. Might be a nice guy, wouldn't know because he never came to Austin to meet anyone there until late 2025, Almost three years later. When he did arrive, he brought an group of his California vehicle software hires, most of which were maybe 4 years out of college. They literally read scripted presentations, lasting maybe 5 minutes each. This was what GM was hiring to replace the hundreds of tenured technical resources they let go over the last 3 years. The DR dog and pony show at the Austin IC as a flop. We waited for substance but got a TED talk.
Anytime he held a town hall or meeting for the IT team, we got countless updates on what was happening in vehicle software, never anything related to business or manufacturing software. That whole side of IT was ignored. No updates, no acknowledgements, no accolades for work well done. The enterprise side of IT literally kept the company running but we were treated like we didn't exist or at the very least, didn't matter. Even when asked about why the CA office the work on vehicle software was the only thing Richardson ever talked about, our VP told us, and I quote, "we have an office it CA to let the shareholders know that we are a serious IT organization and it keeps our stock prices up… we all like that, don't we?".
DR might be a capable tech professional but he's an inexperienced leader of an IT org of the size and scale of GM IT. He is over his head as a true leader of people. Like his former boss, he lacks the insight and empathy. He isn't someone that understands what it takes to motivate, inspire and get the best out of his team. This is not just a failing by Dave, but a failing at the highest levels. Mary B. has allowed things to take this direction and sits complacently as it happens. Focused on keeping the company from falling into the abyss of tariffs, tyrannical government administration and China, she has turned a blind eye to what is happening at GM internally. Can we blame her? Some would. But maybe put someone in charge that knows what is needed to succeed. Maybe stop putting millions of dollars into F1 racing when you can't sell the EV's you have piling up in the lots. Maybe fix the failed vehicle software that you said was going to out-perform all competitors when you hired all the Apple people. Do something before it all falls apart.
Can't stop the bleeding.
During this time, the new leadership made decisions that directly impacted the work and technology that GM used. Was a change needed? Maybe. But literally they changed direction every 3 months, causing countless months of wasted time and resources shifting from one technology to another. No vision, no plan. "Take every application to cloud, halfway through that process, move to K8s. Before that could be completed, change again to OCP. Oh, that's not going to work… back to the K8s. Oh wait, no, let's go back to cloud. Stop everything now that you're almost done and look for a SaaS solution and dump all the internal applications. The most ADHD development plan ever seen. And lets not forget AI. Literally they are throwing AI and any and all applications. No plans, no guidance, no thought about impact or code quality. AI is a dangerous tool if not well thought out. GM IT is treating AI like a new toy. They have NO idea what they are doing, how to leverage it effectively or stop it from getting into the wrong hands. A company that prides itself on security is opening the flood gates with AI and acting like it's all ok. Reckless and wasteful.
One after the next, the axe fell on those that had been at GM the longest. Executives, Directors, Managers…. pushed out to make room for new blood. Oh, but they kept the only woman senior leader that had previously been a CIO…. Demoted her 3 or 4 times to a VP role and took most of her responsibilities away from her, but she's still there. And after all that they've done to her, she stays. Not sure why. Appearances? Money? Probably. She dutifully delivers the messages from her superiors and continues to collect her large salary and bonuses. Good for her.
Under the new "performance management" culture, people were stack ranked and given ratings. This bell curve forced every leader to put someone at the bottom, regardless of actual performance. Aa a leader myself, I had to do this to a number of people, mainly the least experienced. That New College Hiring program GM was so proud of, gone. And with it, anyone that had less than 3 years' experience. Forced layoffs without having to call it a layoff. Gotta protect that stock price at all costs! That was just in the first year. After reducing the IT teams by 15%, and telling everyone… "we know the pace will slow but that's ok", they ramped up the pressure by consolidating teams, moving resources, changing job roles, telling first level managers that they needed to be coding, reducing project management resources by 30%, moving PM responsibilities to managers, telling testing engineers that they had to be Java programmers or get let go. Continued force layoffs of the bottom 5% every 6 months.
The biggest joke of all was the idea that we all don't see through this game they are playing. Its laughable. Everyone sees it, feels it and has to deal with it. But we aren't going to talk about it in public for fear of retaliation. And trust me, there is retribution for asking questions and being "bold".
I attended and leadership meeting, organized by HR and the Culture committee to get feedback from leadership on how to improve the culture at GM. It was held about 2 weeks after Mary Barra came out with the new "Behaviors" that they took 2 years to come up with. Many of these were a rehash of the previous GM behaviors that were implement some 10 years prior. Among these new behaviors was "Speak Fearlessly". Literally I laughed out loud when they read it. No one at GM with any sense of self-preservation would speak fearlessly about anything that even hinted at non-compliance. It is a joke to even think that someone would be so careless to speak up about anything in public.
During that HR call with almost 450 managers and directors, they asked us to provide feedback on what would improve the culture. One brave manager said the thing that everyone else was thinking…. "Performance Management isn't working and we are letting good people go for no reason". Within 30 seconds, there were a barrage of comments both written and verbal agreeing with this comment. The meeting completely feels apart and the HR team lost all control of it. Manager after manager made the same comments about the failing culture and how this performance model wasn't working. 40 minutes later, they abruptly ended the meeting, thanked everyone and ended the call. No one ever heard another word about culture after that. Don't ask the question if you can't handle the answer.
The people that succeed at GM (mainly in leadership) are some of the biggest narcissist and ego maniacs ever to be in business. I have come the conclusion that this is trait they are looking for when they promote someone to a director or higher position. Can you fire without feeling or care? Are you going to make me (their manager) look good? Are you going to toe the line without question? Are you going to be a totally compliant a## kisser? Skill, empathy, caring, vision, knowledge, leadership are not required…. Just do what you're told, say yes and shut up. THAT will get you somewhere at GM.
I know much of this has been posted in the past and that many have had the same experiences. I left the company some time ago and honestly, it’s been a relief. I feel like I jumped into a lifeboat just before the ship when under. I feel for those still there. Those that have spent the majority of their career there. 15, 20, 30 years dedicated to one company. So many have said privately that his company is unrecognizable to them. Even in prior hard times, the company did not treat people this way. I don't know what's next at GM, but I know they are at a crossroads and someone needs to wake up to the reality that you can't run your company without IT and driving out all the exceptional technical talent will leave you with a dying organization.
And now, today, the news that they Georgia IC will be closing. Most lost resources and career IT people out of a job. It's painful to see. But no one should feel safe if you work at GM. This is the new GM.
Final note… Mary B. step aside or do something to fix it. Let the COO or someone with the time and focus come in and address what's happening. Clean house! It's starting to stink in there."
Long but worth it. GM. What are you doing? : r/GeneralMotors
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