IBM has closed around 8,000 employees, and reports suggest that most job cuts are coming from the company’s Human Resources (HR) department. The step IBM allegedly converted 200 HR roles with AI agents as part of an automation push. Originally, with AI now he was working that was once handled by humans, many roles are being gradually being phased out.

Earlier this month, IBM allegedly replaced about 200 hours of positions with AI agents. Meaning: The company now has software programs that can carry out tasks such as sorting information, answering staff questions or processing internal paperwork. These agents are designed to handle repetitive tasks that do not require much human decisions. Now, the company is doubling on AI, it seems that thousands of jobs are getting affected.

IBM CEO, Arvind Krishna recently indicated this change in an interview. He reported that AI and automation were being used to streamline certain enterprise processes and make teams more efficient. At that time, he said that the total number of employees in IBM was actually increased, as savings from automation were being invested in other parts of business, such as software development, marketing and sales.

Krishna allegedly said, “While we have worked in a large amount inside the IBM to take advantage of AI and automation on some enterprise workflows, our total employment has actually increased.” “It gives you more investment to put in other areas.”

Originally, IBM claims that it is not shrinking in the board. Instead, it is focusing its attention. Creativity, strategic thinking, or stronger skills are required, such as marketing or software development, are still in demand. But roles that include regular, repetitive work, especially in back-office functions, are at high risk.

Meanwhile, IBM’s Chief Human Resource Officer, Nikal Lamorox has said that the use of AI does not mean that all jobs will disappear. “Very few roles will be completely replaced,” he explained. Instead, the AI ​​will handle the repetitive parts of the job, freeing employees to focus on areas that need human decisions and decisions.

Interestingly, despite the large -scale cuts, IBM continues to promote customers its AI tools. At its annual think conference held this month, the company introduced new services to help make other businesses and run its AI agents. These devices are designed to work with key platforms of Openai, Amazon and Microsoft.

This trend is not unique to IBM. Many companies around the world are experimenting with AI-operated equipment to automate tasks and reduce costs. Last month, Duullingo announced that she was replacing the human contractor jobs with AI. “We will slowly stop using (human) contractors who can handle AI,” said Luis von Ego, CEO of Duoolingo.

In April, Shopify CEO Tobias Lutke publicly shared an internal memorandum that originally establishes a new direction for the company. According to the memo, moving forward, the CEO of the company said that if someone hits the human employee, they must first justify why AI cannot do that work. “Before asking for more headcounts and resources, teams should showcase why they can’t find AI,” they have written in the memo. “What would this area look like if the autonomous AI agents were already part of the team?”