IBM’s embrace of artificial intelligence (AI) has not led to widespread job losses, but rather, a shift in the kinds of roles the company is hiring for, according to CEO Arvind Krishna.
Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Krishna had shared that while hundreds of human resources roles at IBM were replaced with AI agents capable of analysing data, conducting research, and drafting emails, overall employment at the company has grown.
“Total employment has actually gone up,” Krishna said, noting that the savings generated from automating routine tasks have enabled IBM to invest more heavily in domains requiring human judgment.
These include software engineering, sales, and marketing — fields he described as “critical thinking” areas that involve interactions “against other humans, as opposed to just doing rote process work.”
While The Wall Street Journal did not specify the timeframe over which these HR reductions occurred, it did confirm that the move freed up resources to bolster teams working on growth-oriented functions.
Krishna also commented on the impact of former United States President Donald Trump’s tariffs, describing the effect on IBM’s finances as “very limited.”
Since IBM manufactures most of its mainframe and quantum systems domestically, the direct hit was minimal. However, he warned that if tariffs start affecting consulting demand, the fallout could require “hardheaded management decisions.”
As noted by PYMNTS, Krishna had previously predicted in February that AI adoption would surge as costs decline. “We will find that the usage will explode as costs come down,” he told Bloomberg Television.
Krishna, along with the CEOs of Intel, Qualcomm, and HP, also met Trump on March 10 to raise concerns over trade policy and its implications for US manufacturing.
