The company has announced that the expansion of roles will be across the board, impacting a wide range of departments.
As reported by Bloomberg, IBM has announced plans to triple its entry-level hiring in the US, despite the wider impact of AI on the availability of early-stage opportunities.
Nickle LaMoreaux, IBM’s chief human resources officer, spoke at a conference this week (13 February) in New York, confirming that the jobs will be in areas where AI could be used instead. She stated entry-level job descriptions for software developers and other roles were adapted to make the case internally for the recruitment push.
Speaking at Charter’s Leading with AI Summit, LaMoreaux explained: “The entry-level jobs that you had two to three years ago, AI can do most of them. So, if you’re going to convince your business leaders that you need to make this investment, then you need to be able to show the real value these individuals can bring now. And that has to be through totally different jobs.”
As a result, an early-career starter at IBM will find themselves in an altered role, focusing less on routine tasks. For example, because AI can handle standard coding challenges, IBM’s junior software developers are now spending less time coding and more time working with customers.
In the HR department, entry-level staffers spend time intervening when HR chatbots fall short, correcting output and communicating with managers as needed.
IBM did not specify how many people it would be hiring as part of the initiative; however, the organisation did say that expansion will be across the board, affecting a wide range of departments.
IBM’s news comes at a time when there is growing concern that AI and other advanced technologies could result in limited career opportunities for future graduates and early-career starters.
Amazon recently announced it intends to cut 16,000 roles across its departments internationally, as a means of strengthening its organisation by “reducing layers, increasing ownership and removing bureaucracy”. In 2025 alone, Amazon spent nearly $100bn on AI.
Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.
