In a bold move against the tide of AI-led job cuts, IBM is ramping up entry-level hiring across the US, signaling confidence in the human edge amid growing automation fears.
As the global job market braces for the full force of artificial intelligence, one of tech’s oldest giants is swimming against the current. While companies across industries are cutting roles and automating at scale, IBM has announced an unexpected move, it plans to triple entry-level hiring in the United States by 2026.
The announcement, made by Nickle LaMoreaux, IBM’s Chief Human Resource Officer, during Charter’s Leading with AI Summit, stands in stark contrast to the industry’s growing scepticism about the future of human labour, reports Bloomberg.
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IBM plans to triple entry-level hiring
IBM’s latest hiring push signals a strategic shift in how the company views its workforce. LaMoreaux revealed that the tech firm is not just expanding its entry-level recruitment, it’s reinventing it.
The descriptions for these roles, she explained, have been rewritten to focus on areas AI cannot easily replicate, such as communication, creativity, and human engagement.
“And yes, it’s for all these jobs that we’re being told AI can do,” LaMoreaux said, underscoring IBM’s confidence in human adaptability.
By realigning early-career positions towards more people-centred tasks, IBM hopes to build a future-ready workforce that can thrive alongside automation, not in spite of it. The company’s move also serves a long-term purpose, nurturing talent pipelines that can grow into leadership roles and preserve institutional knowledge in an era of constant technological disruption.
Though IBM has not disclosed how many new hires it plans to make, the intent is clear, the company is betting on human potential as a strategic advantage. In an environment where many firms are freezing junior roles, IBM’s expansion feels almost radical.
AI automation is a big concern
IBM’s decision comes amid a growing wave of unease about AI’s role in global employment. In 2025, an MIT study estimated that 11.7 per cent of jobs could already be automated, fuelling fears that millions of roles could soon vanish.
Tech leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos recently echoed similar warnings, urging governments and companies to prepare for mass workforce transitions.
The
caution comes at a time when
layoffs have swept through the tech industry, with companies like Google, Microsoft, and numerous AI startups trimming teams in anticipation of a leaner, AI-driven future.
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This shifting landscape has left many workers anxious about their place in the new economy. For some, AI represents progress; for others, it’s a ticking clock counting down to redundancy.
IBM’s move, then, represents more than a hiring plan, it’s a statement of intent. By tripling entry-level hiring, the company appears determined to prove that technology and humanity can evolve together. The approach could also become a litmus test for the rest of the industry: can a tech giant maintain its edge by doubling down on human skills rather than replacing them?
As 2026 unfolds, the answer may define not just IBM’s future, but the broader balance between man and machine in the workplace.
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