IBM has laid off around 8,000 employees, and reports suggest that most of the job cuts are coming from the company’s Human Resources (HR) department. The move comes just days after IBM reportedly replaced 200 HR roles with AI agents as part of an automation push. Basically, with AI now doing the work that was once handled by humans, many roles are slowly being phased out.
Earlier this month, IBM reportedly replaced about 200 HR positions with AI agents. Meaning: The company now has software programs that can carry out tasks like sorting information, answering employee queries, or processing internal paperwork. These agents are designed to handle repetitive tasks that don’t require much human judgment. Now, with the company doubling down on AI, it seems like thousands of jobs are being affected.
IBM’s CEO, Arvind Krishna, hinted at this change in a recent interview. He explained that AI and automation were being used to streamline certain enterprise processes and make teams more efficient. At the time, he said the total number of employees at IBM had actually increased, as savings from automation were being invested in other parts of the business, like software development, marketing, and sales.
“While we have done a huge amount of work inside IBM on leveraging AI and automation on certain enterprise workflows, our total employment has actually gone up,” Krishna reportedly said. “It gives you more investment to put into other areas.”
Basically, IBM claims that it isn’t shrinking across the board. Instead, it is shifting its focus. Jobs that require creativity, strategic thinking, or strong people skills, such as those in marketing or software development, are still in demand. But roles that involve routine, repetitive work, especially in back-office functions, are at higher risk.
Meanwhile, IBM’s Chief Human Resources Officer, Nickle LaMoreaux, has said that the use of AI doesn’t necessarily mean all jobs will disappear. “Very few roles will be completely replaced,” she explained. Instead, AI will take over the repetitive parts of the job, freeing up employees to focus on areas that need human judgment and decision-making.
Interestingly, despite the massive cuts, IBM continues to promote its AI tools to clients. At its annual Think conference held this month, the company launched new services to help other businesses build and run their own AI agents. These tools are designed to work alongside major platforms from OpenAI, Amazon, and Microsoft.
This trend isn’t unique to IBM. Many companies around the world are experimenting with AI-powered tools to automate tasks and reduce costs. Last month, Duolingo announced that it is replacing human contractor jobs with AI. “We’ll gradually stop using (human) contractors to do work that AI can handle,” said Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn.
In April, Shopify CEO Tobias Lutke publicly shared an internal memo that basically set up a new direction for the company. According to the memo, going forward, the company CEO said that if anyone hires a human employee, they will have to first justify why AI can not do that job. “Before asking for more headcount and resources, teams must demonstrate why they cannot get what they want done using AI,” he wrote in the memo. “What would this area look like if autonomous AI agents were already part of the team?”