IBM's CEO says AI has caused hundreds of HR staff to be fired, but programmers and salespeople have increased
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IBM CEO Arvind Krishna revealed that replacing some of the company's jobs with AI and AI agents has actually led to an increase in overall employment.
IBM CEO Says AI Has Replaced Hundreds of Workers but Created New Programming, Sales Jobs - WSJ
https://www.wsj.com/articles/ibm-ceo-says-ai-has-replaced-hundreds-of-workers-but-created-new-programming-sales-jobs-54ea6b58
While the spread of AI has not yet led to large-scale restructuring across society, some business leaders say they are working to use AI to reduce headcount.
As an example, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said in March 2025 that the company's AI products would eliminate the need to hire human software engineers.
By Dan Farber
As the IT labor market continues to shrink, IBM has revealed that the introduction of AI has actually increased hiring in some departments.
'IBM has made significant progress in using AI and automation for certain enterprise workflows, but overall hiring has actually increased as it frees up investments in other areas,' Krishna told The Wall Street Journal.
Krishna calls areas such as software engineering, sales, and marketing, where IBM has seen an increase in hiring, 'areas where critical thinking is important,' where people are required to interact with and sometimes confront other people, rather than just perform mechanical tasks.
IBM is also offering a service that allows companies to build their own AI agents, enabling them to efficiently manage multiple AI agents and the internal and business data they require to operate.
Technology companies such as Amazon, OpenAI, NVIDIA, and Microsoft also offer similar services, and IBM's AI agent service is positioned as an additional service aimed at collaboration with these companies.
'Similar to IBM's approach of letting customers use the cloud computing provider of their choice, IBM is taking a 'use what works for you' approach to its AI business,' Krishna said.
by World Economic Forum
IBM has worked on a range of businesses enabling innovation through technology and has secured consulting contracts worth $6 billion from companies looking to use generative AI, but the sector is facing headwinds including a shifting macroeconomic outlook.
According to Krishna, IBM's mainframe computers and quantum computing systems are manufactured in the U.S., so the impact of President Trump's tariffs on IBM's business will be very limited. The company also has a five-year plan to invest a total of $150 billion in the U.S. by April 2025.
However, tariffs are also expected to hurt discretionary spending in IBM's consulting business through reduced demand.
'If the impact is within 3-4 percent, we can patiently endure and weather the storm,' Krishna said. 'But if the impact is around 10 percent, we will need to be more rational in our management decisions.'
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