DETROIT — As artificial intelligence expands, it threatens to exacerbate a growing trend for America’s largest automakers: the elimination of white-collar workers.

The “Detroit Three” automakers have together cut more than 20,000 U.S. salaried jobs, or 19% of their combined workforces, from recent employment peaks this decade, according to public filings and employment data from the companies.

Reasons for the job declines vary by automaker, but in general are tied to evolving technological changes in the automotive industry, with the rise of software-defined vehicles, autonomous and all-electric vehicles, and, most recently, AI.

“Artificial intelligence is going to replace literally half of all white-collar workers in the U.S.,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in July at the Aspen ideas Festival. “AI will leave a lot of white-collar people behind,” he added later.

The largest American automaker has led the cuts, with General Motors reducing U.S. salaried headcounts by roughly 11,000 people from 2022 through last year. Those job cuts came after GM had a run-up in employment, expanding from 48,000 U.S. white-collar workers in 2020 to 58,000 in 2022.

Ford Motor and Chrysler parent Stellantis have cut jobs more gradually. From its salaried employment peak in 2020, Ford has scaled back by roughly 5,300 workers to reach about 30,700 white-collar employees last year, while Stellantis has gone from 15,000 salaried workers in 2020 to about 11,000 during that time.

On an annual basis, combined white-collar employment for the three automakers peaked at roughly 102,000 jobs in 2022. It fell 13%, to 88,700 people, as of the end of last year.

GM this week added to its cuts by laying off between 500 and 600 salaried workers globally, largely in information technology operations in Texas and Michigan, people familiar with the matter told CNBC, speaking anonymously about details that had not been made public. Those cuts were partially due to changing workforce needs involving AI, the people said.

GM’s layoffs came as the automaker is increasingly hiring for AI-related jobs and encouraging workers, including in IT, to embrace its AI platforms, according to a handful of current or former GM employees and the company’s hiring website.

“They’re going to push AI for everyday work and everything else,” a veteran programmer and data scientist for GM who was laid off this week told CNBC, speaking anonymously for fear of repercussions or impacts to potential future jobs. “I’ve seen it firsthand. It can make you much more productive, as a programmer. It can really help you get more work done, but AI isn’t going to do you any good if you don’t know the business.”

Prior to the IT reductions, notable decreases in GM’s U.S. salaried workforce occurred as a result the winding down and eventual discontinuation of its Cruise robotaxi business as well as rolling evaluations of the company’s workforce under GM CEO Mary Barra.

“Sometimes the people who got you to ‘point A’ aren’t necessarily people who are going to get you to ‘point B,’” Barra said during an Automotive Press Association meeting in January about turnover in the automaker’s top ranks.

GM, Ford and Stellantis declined to comment on their reductions in U.S. white-collar workers in recent years.

The automakers have previously cited “transformations,” “bold choices,” cost-cutting and “strengthening” or making a unit more efficient as reasons for job cuts.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports motor vehicle manufacturing jobs only dropped by 0.2% from 2022 through last year, to 285,800 workers. That data includes both salaried and hourly workers.

And not all automakers have been cutting U.S. salaried jobs. Toyota Motor reported a roughly 31% increase in its American white-collar workforce from 2020 through 2025, to roughly 47,500 people.

Ford, GM and Stellantis are also still hiring for some roles.

Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa, who is leading a companywide turnaround that includes a global cost-cutting program, has said the company still plans to add more than 2,000 white-collar jobs in North America.

Combined, the Detroit automakers currently have more than 2,000 open positions in the U.S., according to their job sites. Of those posted jobs, nearly 400 involve AI, with GM seeking more than 250 positions dealing with AI, according to search results.

Lenny LaRocca, lead of consulting firm KPMG’s automotive practice in the Americas, said automakers need to be cautious about how they execute AI strategies with workers.

“They really need to think about how they adapt it and use it to generate, to be more efficient and be more profitable,” he said. “I don’t know necessarily if it’s just to reduce headcounts. I think the focus is more on how do they do their job better and how to be more innovative and move quicker.”

Work roles are evolving quickly with AI, requiring new skills, according to a recent post from Gregory Emerson, managing director and senior partner at Boston Consulting Group.

BCG forecasts five years from now — or perhaps further in the future — 10% to 15% of jobs in the U.S. could be eliminated as AI proliferates, with 50% to 55% of U.S. jobs being reshaped by AI over the next two to three years.

“This shift is already happening—and will pick up speed as AI adoption spreads,” Emerson wrote in the coauthored report. “Those who cut their workforce beyond AI’s ability to replace it will see productivity drop, institutional knowledge disappear, and critical talent walk away. Those who fail to dramatically rethink work will see their competitors grow faster and more profitably.”

A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high net worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.

Equity Group Investments, backed by the family of late billionaire Sam Zell, owns a John Deere dealership, a bluefin tuna fishery and a pedestrian bridge that connects San Diego to Tijuana International Airport.

While those holdings sound entirely unrelated, what unites the private investment firm’s wide-ranging portfolio is a focus on old-economy businesses that are less susceptible to disruption from artificial intelligence and other technologies, according to EGI’s president, Mark Sotir.

“We tend to put our capital to work for a longer duration than most [private equity] firms. If you’re thinking out 10 years, 12 years, you have to start with picking a company in an industry that you know will be around,” he said. “That’s why we shy away from some tech and some startups. It’s not because we don’t like doing them. It’s just very hard for me to tell you where software is going to be 10 years out.”

The anti-AI trade gained steam on Wall Street earlier this year, dubbed “HALO” for “heavy assets, low obsolescence.” Family offices already employ the same strategy with private markets as they invest for generations and value the cash flow that often comes with old-economy businesses, according to Sotir. Economic uncertainty and tax reform has also made backing these asset-heavy companies more attractive.

Asset-heavy businesses tend to deter traditional PE investors who are looking to buy and sell within three to seven years, giving family offices opportunities to acquire at a discount, according to Sotir.

“Everybody gets so enamored with asset-light, but I like to say, ‘If you’re paying an asset-light premium, then I’m not sure where the advantage is,’” he said.

The “one big beautiful bill” law also provided a boon to owners of these businesses by renewing bonus depreciation, enabling companies to deduct the full cost of qualifying assets like machinery or vehicles the first year they are used.

“It’s a very material change that can make a big difference in terms of the tax benefit,” said Brian Hans, who leads the tax efficiency strategists for UBS’ advanced planning group. “Family office clients are increasingly approaching investing in general with more proactive tax planning, looking at the after-tax return, calculating what the return from the investment is going to be, and factoring that in when making the decision to invest.”

If the business is an active investment, the depreciation can be used to deduct against income on other active investments like stocks, Hans added. This is a sizable benefit for families that have highly appreciated stock holdings, he said.

Auto and equipment dealerships are ripe for taking advantage of bonus depreciation and check off other important boxes for families like reliable cash flow, according to Joe Mowery, head of dealership investment banking at Stephens.

“It’s very simple. They like a tax-advantaged income stream,” Mowery said.

While inflation and other economic trends can weigh on consumers’ ability to buy vehicles and equipment, the parts and service business is resilient and has high margins, according to Mowery.

“It’s not a nice-to-have. It’s a must-have. You know, you got to get to work, you got to take the kids to school, whatever the case may be,” he said.

Old-economy businesses aren’t immune to disruption, but they can come with geographic moats, limiting competition, according to Sotir. For instance, EGI owns John Deere and Kenworth dealerships. Thanks to the franchise terms, Sotir said he does not have to worry about another dealership of the same brand opening nearby.

As for EGI’s bluefin tuna fishing and farming business in Baja California, there are substantial barriers to entry due to quotas on fishing, according to Sotir.

EGI isn’t under pressure to deploy capital, unlike traditional PE firms, as it’s family backed, Sotir said, noting the firm typically makes one to two deals a year. Sotir said the firm is receiving more inbound queries from business owners who are pressured by tariffs, inflation and other factors.

“The amount of uncertainty that people are dealing with has oddly turned into a benefit for us,” he said.

There are attractive opportunities in agriculture, with farms under tremendous stress, Sotir said. The challenges are real, such as the rising costs of fertilizer and fuel, but EGI can afford to wait for a payoff, he said.

“People are worried about the space, and that’s the perfect time for us to step in to buy,” he said. “Even if the value doesn’t come in the first two, three years, that’s okay, as long as we know it’s coming, because we’ve got that duration.”