IBM CEO Arvind Krishna has shared plans to slow hiring across the company and replace thousands of non-customer-facing roles with AI.
Krisha told Bloomberg that of the 26,000 non-customer-facing workers at IBM, “I could easily see 30 per cent of that getting replaced by AI and automation over a five-year period.”
That would mean roughly 7,800 jobs lost, although an IBM spokesperson later clarified that “part of any reduction would include not replacing roles vacated by attrition.”
Krisha noted how “mundane tasks such as providing employment verification letters or moving employees between departments will likely be fully automated”, while “some HR functions, such as evaluating workforce composition and productivity, probably won’t be replaced over the next decade” according to the CEO.
IBM are in the midst of recently announced job cuts that will total 5,000 once completed.
