IBM, one of the benchmarks in the technological and computer world, will pause hiring positions that in the coming years may be replaced by artificial intelligence, explained its CEO, Arvind Krishna, in an interview with Bloomberg on Monday.
Hiring in non-public-facing departments, such as human resources, will be suspended or slowed down. Up to 26,000 employees work in these types of jobs indoors. “I see 30% likely to be replaced by artificial intelligence and automation in about five years,” he said. This percentage would mean some 7,800 jobs lost, between layoffs and posts not replaced after departures.
Krishna’s plan marks one of the largest job interventions announced in response to the rapid advance of artificial intelligence. More mundane tasks, like moving employees between departments, will likely be fully automated, Krishna said. Some HR functions, such as workforce composition and productivity, won’t be replaced over the next decade, he said.
IBM currently employs about 260,000 workers and maintains hiring for software development and customer service roles. Finding talent is easier today than it was a year ago, Krishna said. The company announced job cuts earlier this year, which may amount to about 5,000 workers. Still, Krishna said IBM has increased its overall workforce, adding about 7,000 people in the first quarter.
Krishna, who has been CEO since 2020, has worked to focus the century-old company on software and services like hybrid cloud. IBM beat earnings forecasts in the last quarter filed thanks to reduced spending, including previously announced job cuts. The new productivity and efficiency steps are expected to generate $2 billion a year, about €1.8 billion, in savings by the end of 2024.
Amid the turbulence of artificial intelligence, the company does not rule out a “shallow and short” recession by the end of the year.
