Global tech giant IBM plans to temporarily halt or slow down recruitment for positions that they anticipate will be substituted by artificial intelligence in the future, said the company’s CEO Arvind Krishna.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Krishna specifically mentioned back-office roles, including human resources, which currently consist of approximately 26,000 workers.
He predicted that around 30 percent of these roles could be substituted by AI and automation within the next five years.
According to an IBM spokesperson, this would result in the elimination of approximately 7,800 job positions and the reduction will include not filling positions that become vacant due to attrition.
With the growing popularity of artificial intelligence tools in automating customer service, generating code and producing text, concerns have arisen regarding their impact on the job market.
Krishna’s plan is among the most extensive workforce strategies to date aimed at responding to the fast-evolving technology.
The IBM chief also stated that relatively routine tasks like issuing employment verification letters or transferring employees between departments are likely to be entirely automated. However, he also mentioned that certain HR duties, such as assessing workforce structure and efficiency, are less likely to be replaced by AI and automation over the next ten years.
IBM currently employs around 260,000 people and is actively recruiting for software development and customer-facing positions, according to Krishna. The CEO noted that it has become easier to find suitable talent now than it was a year ago. IBM had previously announced job reductions, which are expected to involve roughly 5,000 workers once completed. Nevertheless, Krishna stated that the company has hired around 7,000 people in the first quarter, resulting in a net increase in its workforce.
Krishna, who has been serving as CEO since 2020, has concentrated on aligning the company’s operations around software and services like hybrid cloud. He has divested businesses with lower growth potential, such as the managed infrastructure unit Kyndryl and a section of the Watson Health business. IBM is also contemplating the divestiture of its weather division.
