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17 May 2026, 16:25
The AI skills arms race is coming for automotive: GM, Ford, Stellantis cut over 20,000 jobs
BitcoinWorld The AI skills arms race is coming for automotive: GM, Ford, Stellantis cut over 20,000 jobs The automotive industry is undergoing a quiet but profound workforce transformation. General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis have cut a combined total of more than 20,000 U.S. salaried jobs — roughly 19% of their collective workforce from recent employment peaks this decade, according to CNBC calculations. While multiple factors are driving these reductions, a clear pattern is emerging: companies are deliberately swapping traditional IT roles for AI-native talent. GM’s deliberate skills swap General Motors laid off more than 10% of its IT department — about 600 salaried employees — in what the company describes as a deliberate skills swap. The automaker insists it is hiring, but the new recruits are not filling the same roles. The most sought-after capabilities include AI-native development, data engineering and analytics, cloud-based engineering, agent and model development, prompt engineering, and new AI workflows. In practical terms, GM is looking for people who know how to build with AI from the ground up — designing systems, training models, and engineering pipelines — not just use AI as a productivity tool. The layoffs, however, are not a one-to-one exchange. GM acknowledges there will likely be a net-negative job loss as the company shifts its workforce composition. Industry-wide cuts and technological change Ford, GM, and Stellantis have all reduced their salaried workforces significantly this decade. While cost-cutting and restructuring play a role, executives at all three companies have pointed to technological change — particularly AI — as a driving factor. Anecdotes from engineers and founders suggest that not all of these businesses know exactly what they are doing with AI yet, but the hiring patterns indicate a long-term strategic bet. This trend is not limited to Detroit. Automotive suppliers, logistics firms, and even startups are racing to hire AI specialists while trimming legacy IT teams. The skills arms race is reshaping the entire transportation sector. Samsara’s real-world AI use case One company that appears to have found a revenue-generating AI application is Samsara. The firm has spent the last decade installing cameras inside millions of trucks for driver monitoring, theft prevention, and liability claims. Samsara used that mountain of data to train its own model capable of detecting potholes and determining how quickly they are deteriorating. The company is now pitching this product to cities and has several under contract, including Chicago. RJ Scaringe’s fundraising streak Separately, Rivian’s spinoff company Mind Robotics raised another $400 million, just two months after raising $500 million. Bitcoin World calculated that investors have poured $12.3 billion into founder RJ Scaringe’s three startups — including Mind Robotics and Rivian. That figure does not include the nearly $12 billion in gross proceeds from Rivian’s IPO, nor the recent strategic deals with Volkswagen Group and Uber, which could add nearly $7 billion to Rivian’s coffers. Insiders and investors told Bitcoin World that Scaringe’s ability to give undivided attention to whoever he is talking to — whether an investor, supplier, or executive — makes them feel like the most important person in the room. It is yet another piece of evidence in the long-standing case against multitasking. Other notable deals Several other deals caught our attention this week. Arkeus, an Australian startup developing perception software for autonomous drones and aircraft, raised $18 million in a Series A round led by QIC Ventures. Aseon Labs, a Redwood City startup that developed a depot-in-a-box for charging, cleaning, and inspecting autonomous fleets, came out of stealth with undisclosed backing by Y Combinator. Rapido raised $240 million in a round led by Prosus, valuing the Indian ride-hailing company at $3 billion. Quantum Systems, a Germany-based drone startup backed by Peter Thiel, is in talks to raise around €600 million ($703 million) with companies like Airbus and Blackstone as investors. Notable reads and tidbits Redwood Materials hired a new CFO, Deepak Ahuja, formerly Tesla’s finance chief and most recently CFO at drone company Zipline. Tesla Robotaxis have crashed at least twice since July 2025 while a teleoperator was remotely driving the vehicles, according to newly unredacted information submitted to NHTSA. Uber is expanding in India with two new engineering campuses that can fit about 9,600 people. Waymo issued a software update to its fleet of nearly 4,000 vehicles to help them avoid flooded roads, though the company has not fully solved the problem of how its vehicles behave in these conditions. Conclusion The AI skills arms race is not a future trend — it is happening now in the automotive sector. Companies are cutting traditional IT jobs and hiring AI specialists, even if they are still figuring out how to use the technology effectively. For workers, the message is clear: AI-native skills are becoming essential. For the industry, the race is on to find the right talent before competitors do. FAQs Q1: How many automotive jobs have been cut due to AI? CNBC calculated that Ford, GM, and Stellantis have cut a combined total of more than 20,000 U.S. salaried jobs, or 19% of their combined workforces, from recent employment peaks this decade. While not all cuts are directly AI-related, technological change including AI is a major factor. Q2: What AI skills are automakers hiring for? The most sought-after capabilities include AI-native development, data engineering and analytics, cloud-based engineering, agent and model development, prompt engineering, and new AI workflows. Companies want people who can build AI systems from the ground up, not just use AI tools. Q3: Is this trend limited to Detroit automakers? No. Automotive suppliers, logistics firms, and startups are also racing to hire AI specialists while trimming legacy IT teams. The skills arms race is reshaping the entire transportation sector globally. This post The AI skills arms race is coming for automotive: GM, Ford, Stellantis cut over 20,000 jobs first appeared on BitcoinWorld .
17 May 2026, 16:24
Bitcoin developer warns users after Google email hack reveals risk
🚨 Google email vulnerability exposes $BTC users to new phishing threats. Hackers used official Google emails and sites to appear legitimate. Continue Reading: Bitcoin developer warns users after Google email hack reveals risk The post Bitcoin developer warns users after Google email hack reveals risk appeared first on COINTURK NEWS .
17 May 2026, 16:01
XRP trades flat at $1.42 as traders watch support
🚨 XRP continues to hold at the $1.42 support zone. Analysts expect a breakout soon as volatility shrinks in $XRP. Continue Reading: XRP trades flat at $1.42 as traders watch support The post XRP trades flat at $1.42 as traders watch support appeared first on COINTURK NEWS .
17 May 2026, 16:00
Ethereum dips after Harvard’s $86.8M exit: Can ETH hold $1.7K support?
Institutional exits and whale shorts signal growing de-risking pressure on Ethereum’s $2k support level.
17 May 2026, 15:47
Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs See Heavy Outflows as Prices Hit Brick Wall
Bitcoin’s price breakout attempts were halted on a few occasions at $82,000 in the past week, which could be explained to an extent by the developments on the US ETF front. The spot Ethereum ETFs suffered even more in terms of a red daily streak, as they didn’t see even a single day in the green. BTC ETFs Bled Out Heavily Recall that the previous business week, the one that ended on May 6, was quite impressive as the spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted over $620 million in net inflows. This continued an impressive green streak of six consecutive weeks with more inflows than outflows. However, this run was snapped in the past five trading days. Data from SoSoValue shows that investors changed their course of action and withdrew $1 billion in total, reducing the cumulative net inflows from $59.34 billion to $58.34 billion. If we break down this data, it’s evident that May 13 was the worst-performing trading day, with net outflows of $635 bilion. May 15 followed with $290 million, and May 12 was third in line with $233 million. In contrast, net inflows dominated the other two trading days but in a more modest manner: $28.3 million on Monday and $131.31 million on Thursday. This became the financial vehicles’ worst week since late January when investors were pulling fund out en masse. Bitcoin ETF Flows. Source: SoSoValue In the meantime, the cryptocurrency’s price tried to break the upper boundary of its consolidation range on three separate occasions, but it was halted each time. The last one was on Thursday, after the CLARITY Act passed the Senate Banking Committee, and BTC dumped from $82,000 to under $78,000 by Friday and Saturday. ETH ETFs in Red, Too The spot Ethereum ETFs’ performance is even more worrying as there wasn’t a single trading day in the green last week. Investors withdrew $16.9 million on Monday, a whopping $130.62 million on Tuesday, $36.3 million on Wednesday, $5.65 million on Thursday, and $65.65 million on Friday. Thus, the week ended with net outflows of just over $255 million – the most since late January again. Bloomberg’s ETF specialist James Seyffart compared how the BTC and ETH ETFs have performed lately, and outlined a painful trend for those investing in the altcoin. Wrote yesterday about the Ethereum ETFs — They have stemmed their outflows and seen some inflows over the last couple months but nowhere near the level of interest that the Bitcoin ETFs have seen over the same time period. Peak was ~$15 billion cumulative net inflows in October pic.twitter.com/cE4R4xXoNo — James Seyffart (@JSeyff) May 15, 2026 ETH’s price was also stopped at $2,400 earlier this week, and now sits below $2,200. In the meantime, the ETFs tracking SOL and XRP ended the week without any red days. In fact, the Ripple ETFs marked their best week since December, and the Solana funds did as well. The post Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs See Heavy Outflows as Prices Hit Brick Wall appeared first on CryptoPotato .
17 May 2026, 15:46
Trump-linked firm sells 4,870 ETH for $10.61 million
🚨 4,870 ETH worth $10.61 million was sold in $ETH by a Trump-linked firm. The sale was quickly converted to USDC, sparking new volatility. Continue Reading: Trump-linked firm sells 4,870 ETH for $10.61 million The post Trump-linked firm sells 4,870 ETH for $10.61 million appeared first on COINTURK NEWS .
