After layoffs, IBM expects to replace 7,800 jobs with AI in next 5 years

By Abhik SenguptaAmerican tech company IBM expects to suspend select roles at the company and replace them with artificial intelligence in the coming years. As reported by Bloomberg, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, suggested some back-office functions could be replaced by AI in the next five years. Krishna adds human resources could potentially be replaced by AI. This comes after several companies, including Amazon, laid off staff from the HR department and planned to use AI instead. IBM also announced harsh measures earlier this year to limit expenses. The company in January announced plans to lay off nearly 4,000 workers.

The IBM CEO said in the interview, “I could easily see 30 per cent of that getting replaced by AI and automation over a five-year period.” IBM has roughly 26,000 workers, therefore, nearly 7,800 jobs could be replaced by AI in the coming years.

The company employs roughly 260,000 staff and continues to hire for software development and customer-facing roles. Krisha said in the interview that despite cuts, the company got about 7,000 people in the first quarter. IBM cut jobs earlier this year after the company announced plans to spin off and sale of two business units.

IBM CEO Krishna, who has been managing the century-old company since 2020, divested lower-growth businesses and may consider selling its weather unit. IBM Chief Financial Officer James Kavanaugh had said that new productivity and efficiency steps are expected to drive $2 billion a year in savings by the end of 2024.

IBM CEO Krishna’s comment comes when generative AI has caught the imagination of people around the world following the launch of ChatGPT by OpenAI, Bing Chat by Microsoft, and Bard by Google. Some tech companies worldwide and in India are even hiring prompt managers to help complete office tasks via commands that AI chatbots can understand. In fact, a Bengaluru company decided to gift ChatGPT Plus subscriptions to employees after seeing a rise in productivity.

However, some tech entrepreneurs, including Elon Musk, believe that AI needs regulations and government intervention. Musk even signed an open letter that demands a pause on AI developments for the rest of 2023. On the other hand, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella note that AI would get rid of some jobs that do not make sense in 2023, which will eventually help employees save more time. The duo have also asked for some sort of regulation to prevent the misuse of technology.