When headlines blame artificial intelligence for sweeping layoffs across Silicon Valley and beyond, IBM CEO Aravind Krishna says that explanation misses the bigger picture.

In a wide-ranging interview with , Krishna pushed back on the notion that AI is the primary driver of the current job cuts, arguing instead that much of today’s correction is a direct aftershock of pandemic hiring binges between 2020 and 2023. While he conceded AI will cause some displacement, he described the immediate wave of reductions as a market realignment — not a technological apocalypse. Advertisement

Krishna used blunt language to describe the staffing boom in the pandemic years. “If you look at the total employment numbers, I think people gorged on employment… during the pandemic and the year after,” he s

See Full Page