IBM to Replace 30% of Workforce with Artificial Intelligence in Next 5 Years, CEO Announces

According to CEO Arvind Krishna, IBM, one of the world’s leading technology companies, plans to replace about 30% of its workforce with artificial intelligence (AI) in the next five years. The move, which could lead to the loss of around 7,800 jobs, is part of a broader push by the company to automate tasks that machines can handle more efficiently.

Despite the potential job losses, IBM currently employs around 260,000 people globally and has continued to hire personnel for software development and customer-facing roles. In the first quarter of 2023 alone, the company added 7,000 new employees to its overall workforce.
Krishna, who became CEO in 2020, has focused IBM’s growth around software and services such as hybrid cloud. In a statement, he explained that AI could automate many customer service tasks, generate code, write text, solve problems, and achieve specific goals. Krishna also stated the company would slow or suspend recruitment for back-office roles, which currently amount to about 26,000 people.

While some roles, such as human resources and non-customer-facing positions, are expected to be replaced by AI, Krishna stressed that functions such as evaluating workforce composition would not be automated in the next 10 years. He also noted automation of mundane tasks like providing employee verification letters could come soon.

“The reason behind the plan is to make IBM more competitive and to improve productivity. We believe that using AI will help us achieve these goals more effectively and efficiently.”

IBM CEO, Arvind Krishna

IBM to leverage AI qualities

According to Krishna, IBM is making its decision due to the numerous benefits of AI, such as the automation of customer services, generation of codes, creation of texts, and so on. He highlighted that AI can automate customer services, generate codes, write texts, and solve other problems. With all of these abilities of AI, Krishna believes the company can fully automate mundane tasks like providing employment verification letters for workers. However, the move has raised concerns among some observers, who worry about the impact of AI on the labor market. Due to rapid technological advancements, Krishna’s plan could mark one of the largest workforce dismissals announced.

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