Automation can cut grunt work, but the real story is where the freed-up time—and money—go next. As IBM’s AI in HR scaled, the company shifted investment toward higher-value roles rather than simple headcount cuts.
From Pink Slips To Job Offers
Imagine being told a piece of software can do your job faster and cheaper. In 2023, IBM didn’t announce mass firings; its CEO said the company would pause hiring for back-office roles that could be automated over time—roughly 7,800 positions potentially affected over several years.¹ Meanwhile, IBM’s internal AskHR system kept maturing: by 2024 it handled 11.5 million interactions, contained about 94% within the platform, lifted HR’s NPS from –35 to +74, and embedded nearly 90 automations—letting managers complete transactions ~75% faster.²
Did you know?
AirTag-style headlines get clicks, but the biggest changes inside firms look more like plumbing: workflow automations, knowledge bases, and a persistent HR chatbot that quietly removes friction.
From “Cutting Costs” To Reinvesting Skills
Automating routine HR tasks never solves everything. You still need humans for sales strategy, creative marketing, and engineering that goes beyond pattern-matching. IBM says its internal AI/automation drive delivered about $3.5 billion in productivity savings since early 2023—capacity it can redirect into higher-value work.³ In other words: less swivel-chair work, more roles aimed at building products, serving clients, and scaling the future of work.
When Cutting Jobs Leads To… Different Jobs
IBM’s chief repeatedly framed the shift as changing the “shape” of work rather than one-way downsizing. Across industries, the emerging pattern is similar: automation trims low-leverage tasks so teams can move up the value chain. Inside IBM, support tickets tied to HR have fallen dramatically since the company started down this path, underscoring how AI can reduce busywork without removing the need for judgment, empathy, or escalation.⁴
AI: Enemy Of Jobs Or Unexpected Ally?
AskHR’s 94% “containment” rate still leaves nuanced cases for people to handle—about 6% require human intervention. That’s the point: AI takes the repetitive load so people can focus on the edge cases that matter most. Done well, it’s not a swap of humans for machines; it’s a re-allocation of attention.
What The IBM Shake-Up Tells Us About The Future
The lesson isn’t “AI replaces everyone.” It’s that organizations win when they pair AskHR-style tools with deliberate reinvestment in human skills—creative problem-solving, client work, and leadership. The companies that thrive will strike that balance: smart automation on the back end, and humans where context, trust, and nuance drive outcomes.
Footnotes
Reuters — “IBM to pause hiring in plan to replace 7800 jobs with AI – Bloomberg News” — URL: https://www.reuters.com/technology/ibm-pause-hiring-plans-replace-7800-jobs-with-ai-bloomberg-news-2023-05-01/
IBM Think (Insights) — “Embracing the future of HR by becoming an AI-first enterprise” — URL: https://www.ibm.com/think/insights/embracing-future-of-hr-ai-first-enterprise
IBM — “2024 Annual Report” — URL: https://www.ibm.com/downloads/documents/us-en/1227c12d3a38b173
IBM Case Study — “Transforming HR support with agentic AI” — URL: https://www.ibm.com/case-studies/ibm-askhr
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Brian is a journalist who focuses on breaking news and major developments, delivering timely and accurate reports with in-depth analysis.
BrianFoster@glassalmanac.com
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