After making the audacious decision to lay off thousands, IBM brought back an equal number. The way IT businesses employ AI is shifting due to a startling change in strategy. Automating routine procedures led to an unexpected outcome.

When IBM cut off 8,000 workers from its human resources division in 2023, it made headlines. Why? Routine chores including employee paperwork, vacation requests, and payroll administration were to be replaced by a new artificial intelligence system called AskHR.

The business said that this change would increase production by streamlining processes and cutting expenses. Indeed, an astounding $3.5 billion boost in productivity across over 70 job positions was revealed by IBM.

The major twist, though, was when the company's whole employment didn't decline as anticipated. IBM found itself rehiring in fields that needed human innovation and experience rather than just cutting positions. The savings from automation, according to IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, were used to hire more qualified candidates for positions in marketing, sales, and software engineering. The AI-driven growth of IBM directly led to the creation of these new roles, which were centered on high-value tasks.

At first glance, the layoffs appeared to be a cost- fuck BF cutting strategy, but they had the opposite impact. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Arvind Krishna described this unexpected result: "In fact, our overall employment has increased because [AI] allows for greater investment to be made in other areas."

Stated differently, IBM reallocated the freed-up resources into areas that were difficult to automation, even as regular HR duties were automated. Demand started to increase for jobs requiring human connection, problem-solving, and creative thinking—skills that AI finds difficult to imitate.