IBM CEO Arvind Krishna has pushed back against the widespread belief that artificial intelligence (AI) is the main force behind the ongoing wave of layoffs in the tech industry. Instead, he says the real cause is massive over-hiring during the pandemic, calling the current cuts a “natural correction.”
Krishna acknowledged that AI will eventually displace some jobs, but stressed that most companies cutting staff today are doing so because they expanded too rapidly between 2020 and 2023. In an interview with a foreign media outlet, he said companies had aggressively grown their workforce during the lockdown years. “If you look at the total employment numbers, I think people gorged on employment… during the pandemic and the year after,” Krishna explained.
‘Natural correction’ after pandemic hiring boom
Krishna highlighted how many technology companies dramatically expanded their headcount in just three years. Some firms saw employee numbers jump by “30, 40, 50, 100 percent” from 2020 to 2023.
“There is going to be some natural correction… It’s probably going to go below what’s needed, and then it’ll hit the correct equilibrium,” he said, noting that fluctuations occur based on market demand and growth. Earlier this year, IBM announced plans to lay off a “low single-digit percentage” of its workforce globally—estimated to be around 2,700 employees—as it shifts investments toward AI-led growth areas.
On the long-term impact of AI on jobs, the IBM chief sees displacement—but not at the scale many fear. “Could there be up to 10 percent job displacement? I believe that’ll be likely over the next couple of years… It’s not 30 or 40 percent,” Krishna said, adding that the impact will be concentrated in certain job categories.
He believes that as AI boosts productivity, companies will eventually hire more people, but in different roles. “We are hiring more because people say, ‘I don’t need to do the entry-level task because an AI agent can do it.’ I’m looking at them like, ‘Really? Think strategically for a moment,’” he said.
‘Shortsighted’ use of AI for cutting entry-level jobs
Krishna criticised companies that view AI mainly as a tool for eliminating junior roles. “Wouldn’t you rather have an entry-level person and AI makes them more like a 10-year expert? Isn’t that more useful to me than the other way around?” he asked.
He warned that eliminating pathways for young workers undermines the future of innovation. “Where is the talent who’s going to come up with the next great product? Where is the person who’s going to be able to convince a client to deploy technology the way it should be deployed?” he said, calling layoffs driven purely by AI “shortsighted.”
IBM plans to hire more college graduates
Despite industry-wide layoffs and hiring freezes, Krishna said IBM is moving in the opposite direction. “People are talking about either layoffs or freezing hiring, but I actually want to say that we are the opposite… we are probably going to hire more people out of college over the next 12 months than we have in the past few years,” he told a foreign media outlet.
Krishna, who joined IBM in 1990 and became CEO in 2020, reiterated that while AI will reshape jobs, the biggest disruptions today are rooted in pandemic-era hiring excess—not artificial intelligence.
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