(Image credit: Getty Images / Bloomberg)
IBM's Bold Hiring Strategy
IBM is making a surprising move in the tech industry by tripling its entry-level hiring in the U.S. for 2026. This stands in stark contrast to many other major tech firms that have been conducting large-scale layoffs, often citing AI efficiency savings as the reason. According to a Bloomberg report, IBM is bucking the wider industry trend with this aggressive hiring plan.
The Human Touch in an AI World
Speaking at the 2026 Leading with AI summit in New York, IBM’s chief human resources officer, Nickle LaMoreaux, explained the company's reasoning. She described the false economy of layoffs in a world of AI-driven innovation, warning that reducing entry-level hiring might create a longer-term scarcity of mid-level managers and experienced workers.
“The entry-level jobs that you had two to three years ago, AI can do most of them,” LaMoreaux told attendees. “So, if you’re going to convince your business leaders that you need to make this investment, then you need to be able to show the real value these individuals can bring now. And that has to be through totally different jobs.”
She emphasized that while AI can handle many tasks, workers would focus on the human aspects of these roles.
The Wider Industry Trends
(Image credit: IBM)
The past few years have seen increasing layoffs across major industries, with many companies claiming AI-driven efficiency as the reason. However, some studies suggest these layoffs may be more about “AI washing” than genuine AI innovation.
Entry-level positions, particularly in programming, are being squeezed by new AI capabilities, reducing opportunities for new graduates. This threatens to collapse the supply chain of experienced workers that every industry needs for continued development and innovation.
Industry leaders like Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei have claimed that up to half of entry-level jobs may vanish by 2030, while Microsoft’s head of AI has suggested white-collar jobs could disappear in less than two years.
Not Isolated Thinking
IBM CEO Arvind Krishna reinforced this approach, telling CNN in October: “People are talking about either layoffs or freezing hiring, but I actually want to say that we are the opposite. I expect we are probably going to hire more people out of college over the next 12 months than we have in the past few years.”
Other companies are recognizing the AI nativism of younger workers as a strength. Melanie Rosenwasser, chief people officer at Dropbox, said at the same summit: “It’s like they’re biking in the Tour de France and the rest of us still have training wheels. Honestly, that’s how much they’re lapping us in proficiency.”
Dropbox is expanding its internship and graduate training programs by 25% in 2026 to leverage younger workers' AI capabilities. The company has prioritized a “Virtual First” culture for the past five years, encouraging remote work to focus on talent over physical location.
Other companies like Mozilla, Hubspot, Crowdstrike, Zapier, and Spotify are adopting similar remote-first approaches, giving them a competitive advantage for attracting remote-first workers.
The Uncertain Future of Labor
There’s an emerging dichotomy in the future of employment between those developing AI and those looking to use it. Companies driving AI forward—like Anthropic, Microsoft, and OpenAI—are warning about massive job displacement, even though none of them are making any profit with AI.
However, companies without a profit incentive to promote AI as everything seem to feel differently. For IBM and Dropbox, AI isn’t going to make work redundant; it’s going to change it, similar to previous automation waves throughout history.
Even Anthropic is hiring human SEO experts, suggesting that the smartest bet still seems to be on people, though the ultimate outcome remains uncertain.
Jon Martindale is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware with 20 years of experience covering PC components, emerging technologies, and software advances.
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