IBM to Cut Workers Amid A.I. Boom (www.nytimes.com)

IBM announced plans to cut “a low single-digit percentage” of its roughly 270,000 global employees as it shifts headcount and resources toward higher-growth AI consulting and software businesses. The company didn’t give a headcount or severance details and said U.S. employment will stay roughly flat, framing the move as routine “work force rebalancing.” The announcement comes as IBM reports stronger results—Q3 revenue rose 9% to $16.33 billion and AI-related bookings jumped to $9.5 billion—with the CFO noting about 80% of AI clients are new in the past six months. For the AI/ML community, IBM’s pivot underscores accelerating enterprise demand for AI services and tools even as tech firms prune legacy roles. Technically, the emphasis is on AI-driven consulting and software that can automate tasks (including coding), modernize enterprise stacks, and drive cloud integration—areas IBM has prioritized under CEO Arvind Krishna since spinning off its legacy services unit, Kyndryl. The move signals more investment and talent concentration around production-grade AI deployments in business, but also raises questions about ROI, potential overhype, and the need for reskilling as traditional IT roles evolve or disappear.