IBM has begun replacing a portion of its HR (human resource) staff with AI agents, in a bid to automate internal processes and cut down on routine tasks. The company’s CEO, Arvind Krishna, recently said that artificial intelligence has taken over the work of “a couple hundred” HR employees, as the tech giant leans more heavily into AI-powered tools. This kind of move also reflects a trend where companies these days are relying more on AI to streamline internal processes and, in turn, reducing their dependency on manual tasks. While IBM hasn’t shared a specific timeline, reports suggest around 200 roles have already been phased out.
Interestingly, the reduction in HR jobs doesn’t mean the company is downsizing overall. In fact, IBM’s total workforce has grown, with more hiring happening in departments like software engineering, marketing, and sales — areas where human input, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills remain crucial.
Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Arvind Krishna explained that automating certain workflows has helped free up resources to invest elsewhere. “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, because what it does is it gives you more investment to put into other areas,” he said.
The use of AI agents — software tools that can independently carry out tasks like sorting data, sending emails, or processing internal requests — is catching on fast across the tech world. While there hasn’t been a widespread wave of job cuts linked to AI just yet, some companies are pausing hiring while they figure out how to best use the technology.
At IBM, these AI agents are already being used to handle tasks such as employment verification and managing employee transfers. These were once manually completed by HR staff. According to IBM’s Chief Human Resources Officer Nickle LaMoreaux, the shift doesn’t necessarily mean jobs will vanish altogether. “Very few roles will be completely replaced,” she said. Instead, AI will likely take over repetitive parts of a job, leaving employees to focus on work that requires judgment and decision-making.
In addition to restructuring its internal teams, IBM is now offering new AI services to clients as well. At its annual Think conference this week, the company unveiled tools that let businesses build and run their own AI agents, designed to work alongside existing platforms from companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and OpenAI.