Key Takeaways
- IBM is reportedly reducing its workforce by about 8,000 employees, with a significant impact on its Human Resources division.
- These changes follow IBM’s introduction of AI tools for HR tasks, though the company states overall headcount has grown due to reinvestment in other areas.
- The tech industry continues to see job cuts, with major companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon also recently announcing layoffs.
- AI adoption is a growing trend, leading to shifts in job roles across various industries.
IBM is reportedly making significant workforce adjustments, with around 8,000 positions being cut. It appears the company’s Human Resources division is bearing the brunt of these reductions.
This move comes after IBM implemented new artificial intelligence tools designed to take over tasks previously handled by HR staff, which had already led to some job eliminations.
However, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna recently shared that the company is embracing AI and automation to enhance efficiency. He noted that despite these technological shifts, savings are being channeled into areas like marketing, software engineering, and sales, leading to an overall increase in IBM’s workforce.
IBM is also actively expanding its AI solutions for customers. At its recent Think conference, the company introduced new tools to help businesses create and manage their own AI-driven agents. These are designed to work smoothly with platforms from OpenAI, Amazon, and Microsoft.
The tech sector has seen a wave of job cuts. According to figures from the tracking platform Layoffs.fyi, as reported by Financial Express, over 61,220 tech workers have been laid off recently across 130 companies.
Other tech giants have also been downsizing. Microsoft announced plans to cut 6,000 jobs, about 3% of its global team, as part of a strategic realignment to remain competitive. These reductions span various departments and regions.
Google has also continued to reduce its staff numbers. This includes hundreds of positions in its Platforms & Devices division and earlier reductions in its cloud division. This follows a larger layoff by its parent company, Alphabet, in early 2023.
Amazon recently let go of about 100 employees in its Devices and Services unit, which includes products like Alexa and Kindle. The company stated this was to streamline operations and support future product strategies.
