IBM’s hiring freeze will mostly impact back-office tasks like administration and human resources, according to the company’s CEO Arvind Krishna. The business anticipates that an estimated 7,800 employment in the IT sector could be displaced by artificial intelligence (AI), hence International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) wants to enforce a recruiting freeze for specific positions.
With its headquarters in Armonk, New York, and operations in more than 175 nations, the International Business Machines business (IBM), sometimes known as Big Blue, is an American global technology business. It offers hosting and consulting services in a variety of fields, including mainframe computers and nanotechnology, and is an expert in computer hardware, middleware, and software. With 19 research sites spread over a dozen nations, IBM is the largest industrial research organisation in the world. From 1993 to 2021, IBM held the record for the most annual U.S. patents produced by a firm.
In an interview with Bloomberg News on Monday, the company’s CEO Arvind Krishna made these plans public. The CEO stated that back-office operations like human resources, administration, etc. will be primarily impacted by IBM’s hiring freeze. Within the next five years, AI and automation may replace about 30% of jobs that don’t involve direct contact with customers, he noted. IBM, a tech business based in the United States, anticipates that in the upcoming years, some positions will be suspended and replaced with artificial intelligence. In the next five years, some back-office tasks, according to IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, who was quoted by Bloomberg, may be automated. The possibility of A replacing human resources, says Krishna. This comes after a number of businesses, notably Amazon, cut HR workers and announced plans to replace them with AI.
In order to control costs, IBM also announced stringent steps early this year. In January, the corporation made intentions to fire close to 4,000 employees.
According to the IBM CEO in the interview, “I could easily see 30% of that getting replaced by AI and automation over a five-year period.” Nearly 7,800 jobs at IBM, which employs about 26,000 people, could be eliminated by AI in the foreseeable future.
Following the introduction of ChatGPT by OpenAI, Bing Chat by Microsoft, and Bard by Google, IBM CEO Krishna’s statement comes at a time when generative AI has captured the attention of people all over the world.
Some tech companies around the world, including those in India, have even started hiring prompt managers to assist with office tasks using AI chatbot commands. In fact, after noticing a boost in productivity, a Bengaluru-based business decided to give ChatGPT Plus subscriptions to staff members.
The CEO said that a potential component of IBM’s strategy to reduce its personnel is not filling positions that become vacant as a result of attrition.
Following the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November—a well-known chatbot supported by Microsoft—there has been a spike in interest in AI. The AI-powered chatbot has drawn a lot of interest from people all around the world, demonstrating how AI has the potential to revolutionise a number of sectors, including the software development industry.
According to industry insiders, AI has made strides in software development, automating processes and considerably enhancing the effectiveness of the development process. It is projected that as AI develops, a growing amount of software development duties will be carried out by AI systems, further altering the industry’s landscape.
Although there is still debate regarding how AI will affect the job market, its adoption across a range of industries has the potential to reshape the labour market and open up new job opportunities. According to experts, businesses will need to adapt and make investments in training and reskilling programmes to make sure that their staff is ready for the changes that AI-driven technology will bring about in the workplace.
