Chandler, Ariz. - General Motors is hiring 1,000 high-tech employees to staff an Information Technology Innovation Center in this Phoenix suburb, joining Austin, Texas; Roswell, Ga., and Warren, Mich., as the centerpieces of GM's strategy to bring high-value IT work in house in support of the business transformation underway.

GM expects to hire more than 4,000 new IT workers over the next three to five years to staff the four centers. So far, more than 1,000 employees have been hired for the three locations previously announced.

"Recruiting talented IT professionals is intensely competitive," said GM Chief Information Officer Randy Mott. "To hire the best and the brightest, we need to create employment opportunities that differentiate our company from the competition – location is one such advantage."

GM chose the innovation center locations by looking at IT talent-rich areas that also offer a strong community, lower cost of living and a high-tech industry presence.

"Operating four IT Innovation centers geographically dispersed across the U.S. allows us to offer employment opportunities to hundreds of thousands of IT professionals, over 75 percent located within a 500-mile radius of any one of the centers," Mott said.

Four of five students majoring in IT at higher education institutions in each state are within a three-hour drive from a GM IT innovation center. Combined, the four centers have access to more than 7,000 students at more than 150 colleges and universities majoring in information technology-related fields. GM will target recruitment efforts at up to a dozen key universities within each of the four geographic regions.

The Innovation Centers support all aspects of GM's business. The hubs accelerate the development and implementation of IT solutions for existing and future business. GM is specifically looking to hire talented IT professionals with a range of capabilities, including software development, database administration and system analysts. Innovation Center employees will support all of GM's IT needs, including Web technologies, end-user applications and systems, dealer systems, factory systems and vehicle technology.

Effective April 1, GM will open a temporary center and begin hiring in Phoenix until its permanent building in Chandler is completed. The new Innovation Center is expected to be operational by first quarter 2014. Interviewing for jobs will begin immediately.