“We are tripling our entry-level hiring, and yes, that is for software developers and all these jobs we’re being told AI can do.”
While she admitted that many of the responsibilities that previously defined entry-level jobs can now be automated, IBM has since rewritten its roles across sectors to account for AI fluency. For example, software engineers will spend less time on routine coding—and more on interacting with customers, and HR staffers will work more on intervening with chatbots, rather than having to answer every question.
The shift, LaMoreaux said, builds more durable skills for workers while creating greater long-term value for the company.
But while that strategy might be helpful with short-term financials, LaMoreaux argued, it could cause havoc in the future.
Reducing junior headcount risks creating an eventual shortage of mid-level managers. Attempting to poach talent from competitors is likely to be costlier, and outside hires tend to take longer to adapt to internal systems and culture.
That’s why, she said, HR leaders need to push back.
“Entry-level hires—it is your responsibility to make the case for that,” she said. “Build the business case now; even though it may not seem so obvious to your leaders, because AI is going to make your job easier three years from now.”
Just a week after his comments, however, IBM announced it would cut thousands of workers by the end of the year as it shifts focus to high-growth software and AI areas. A company spokesperson told Fortune at the time that the round of layoffs would impact a relatively low single-digit percentage of the company’s global workforce, and when combined with new hiring, would leave IBM’s U.S. headcount roughly flat.
Fortune reached out to IBM for further comment.
The file-sharing company is set to expand its internship and new graduate programs by 25% to capitalize on the AI fluency of younger workers.
“So many companies have a pyramid with the bottom where school graduates are. That pyramid is going to be broader and shorter, and the path to expertise is going to be faster,” he said.
“This year, we are hiring more school graduates than ever before. I can take a school graduate and give them the tooling so they can actually punch above their weight. AI is an amplifier of human potential. It’s not a displacement strategy.”
