IBM halts hiring for 7,800 jobs that AI could replace: report

• IBM will slow or suspend hiring for back-office roles that AI could replace.
• The IBM CEO told Bloomberg that 7,800 jobs, roughly 30% of back-end roles, will be replaced over 5 years.
• Roles in human resources and non-customer-facing positions will be affected.

AI-induced job cuts are here.

IBM, the New York-based international computing giant, has halted hiring in its non-customer-facing roles that could be replaced by artificial intelligence, Arvind Krishna, the company’s chief executive, told Bloomberg.

Krishna said the cuts will mainly affect non-customer-facing roles, such as human resources — a department with about 26,000 workers.

“I could easily see 30% of that being replaced by AI and automation over five years,” Krishna told Bloomberg — a figure that represents roughly 7,800 jobs. While people currently filling those roles will not be fired, an IBM spokesperson told the outlet that any roles vacated due to attrition will not be filled.

Bloomberg reported earlier that the company, which employs about 260,000 people, announced job cuts earlier this year, amounting to 1.5% of its workforce.

“There is no mass hiring ‘pause’ in place,” an IBM spokesperson told Insider in an emailed comment. “IBM is intentional in hiring with an emphasis on income-generating roles, and we are very selective when filling positions. Jobs that don’t touch our customers or customers.” technology directly. We are actively hiring thousands of jobs right now.”

In recent months, as AI capabilities such as ChatGPT have expanded exponentially, experts have warned of potential impacts on the job market. Insider previously reported that the tech, media, and legal industries are among the industries most likely to be affected.