General Motors set to close Chandler IT center; 940 jobs gone

DETROIT (AP) - General Motors says it will close a large computer center near Phoenix at the end of October, eliminating 940 jobs.

The information technology center in Chandler, Arizona, opened in 2014 as part of a blitz by GM to attract software designers and other employees in metro areas with high numbers of technical workers.

Similar centers in Warren, Michigan, near Detroit, suburban Atlanta, and in Austin, Texas, will remain open.

The Arizona center has just over 1,000 workers now, and most of the eliminated jobs deal with information technology support for consumers, dealers and the company itself. Employees at the other three IT centers will take over that work, GM said Wednesday.

A small number of employees working on software for vehicles will stay in Arizona, spokesman Kevin Kelly said. Laid-off workers will be able to apply for other positions in the company, he said. Some will get severance pay and outplacement services.

Last week GM also eliminated about 200 engineering positions at its technical center in Warren near Detroit. Kelly said the vast majority of those are expected to take other jobs within GM.