2023-05-02 09:38:01
The American technology company International Business Machines (IBM) will stop recruiting for positions that can be taken over by artificial intelligence (AI). According to company boss Arvind Krishna, AI will be able to replace up to a third of the company’s existing 26,000 non-customer-facing positions, such as human resources (HR). Krishna said this in an interview with Bloomberg.
They would cut thousands of jobs
Hiring for administrative positions, such as HR, will be suspended or slowed, Krishna said. “I can easily imagine 30 percent of them being replaced by artificial intelligence and automation within five years,” he added. IBM would thus eliminate 7,800 jobs.
Artificial intelligence tools have captivated the public with their ability to automate customer service, write text and generate code. Many observers worry about their potential to disrupt the labor market. Krishna’s plan represents one of the most far-reaching responses to this rapidly developing technology yet, writes Bloomberg.
Simpler tasks, such as providing proof of employment or moving employees between departments, are likely to be fully automated, Krishna said. Some HR functions, such as assessing workforce composition and productivity, are unlikely to be replaced over the next decade, he added.
Overall, they increased the number of employees
IBM currently employs about 260,000 people and continues to hire for software development and customer-facing roles. Finding talent is easier today than it was a year ago, Krishna said.
The company announced layoffs earlier this year, at the end of which up to 5,000 employees may leave. Still, Krishna said IBM increased its workforce overall, hiring roughly 7,000 people in the first quarter.
Krishna has been IBM’s CEO since 2020, working to refocus the 100-year-old firm on software and services such as hybrid cloud. He sold its lower-growth parts, such as managed infrastructure unit Kyndryl and part of the Watson Health business. The company is currently considering selling its weather unit, Bloomberg reports.
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