IBM will hire your entry-level talent in the age of AI

While the artificial intelligence industry claims AI will replace entry-level jobs, not every company is cutting back on hiring for these positions. In the case of IBM, it goes all-in.

Hardware giant IBM plans to triple the number of startups in the US by 2026 reporting from Bloomberg. Nickle LaMoreaux, IBM’s chief human resource officer, announced the initiative Tuesday at Charter’s Leading with AI Summit.

“And yes, it is for all these jobs that we are told AI can do this,” LaMoreaux said.

These jobs will look different than the entry-level jobs IBM used to offer, she explained. According to LaMoreaux, she went through and changed the descriptions for these entry-level jobs so that they were less focused on areas that AI can actually automate – such as coding – and more focused on people-facing areas such as dealing with customers.

This strategy makes sense. Even if a company like IBM doesn’t necessarily need the same amount of entry-level talent as before, encouraging less experienced employees ensures that these employees have the skills needed for the higher-level positions in the future.

IBM did not specify how many people they would hire for this initiative. TechCrunch reached out to IBM for more information about its hiring plans.

This year could be pivotal in determining what AI’s impact on the labor market will look like. A 2025 MIT study estimated that 11.7% of jobs could probably already be automated by AI. A TechCrunch survey found that several investors believe 2026 will see AI’s potential impact on the labor market – despite not specifically asking for labor.