While much of the artificial intelligence industry argues that AI will replace entry-level jobs, not every company is moving in that direction. In IBM’s case, the company is leaning the other way — and leaning hard.
IBM, the longtime hardware and enterprise technology giant, plans to triple its entry-level hiring in the United States in 2026, according to reporting from Bloomberg. The initiative was announced by Nickle LaMoreaux, IBM’s chief human resource officer, at Charter’s Leading with AI Summit on Tuesday.
“And yes, it’s for all these jobs that we’re being told AI can do,” LaMoreaux said.
LaMoreaux explained that these roles will not be identical to the entry-level jobs IBM offered in prior years. She said she reviewed and revised the job descriptions to shift focus away from areas AI can realistically automate, such as coding, and instead place greater emphasis on people-forward responsibilities, including engaging directly with customers.
The approach is straightforward. Even if a large enterprise like IBM no longer needs the same volume of entry-level hires it once did, hiring and developing less-experienced workers helps build a talent pipeline that can grow into higher-level roles over time. In other words, entry-level hiring can still function as a long-term investment in workforce capability, even as day-to-day tasks shift with automation.
IBM did not share how many people it expects to hire as part of the initiative.
The timing matters, too. 2026 could become a defining year for how the hiring market reacts to AI. An MIT study published in 2025 estimated that AI could already automate 11.7% of jobs. Separately, a survey found that many investors expect 2026 to begin to show AI’s potential impact on the labour market — even though the survey did not ask specifically about labour.
