IBM plans to triple its entry-level hiring across the United States in 2026. The move comes as new data shows more than half of companies that cut jobs in the name of AI are already regretting it.

Forrester research found that 55 percent of employers now say they regret laying off workers for AI-driven efficiency, according to CNBC. Many of those companies bet on AI capabilities that were not actually ready to replace the people they let go.

Why IBM is betting on junior talent again

IBM’s chief human resources officer, Nickle LaMoreaux, put the reasoning bluntly. “If we don’t continue to invest in entry-level hires, what happens in three to five years?” she said. “There’s no pipeline; the well simply dries up.”

That thinking runs against the instinct many companies followed over the past two years, when entry-level roles were often the first cut whenever a firm announced an AI transformation plan. IBM’s reversal signals a rethink of that logic at one of the industry’s largest employers.

The scale of the rehiring wave

More than a third of companies that eliminated roles have already rehired over half of those positions back, and most did it within six months. Separately, 32 percent of U.S. hiring managers said they cut a role mainly because of AI, then rehired for the same or a similar job later.

The pattern points to a gap between what companies expected AI tools to handle and what those tools could actually do once deployed. Cutting the people who understood a process, then discovering the AI still needed human oversight, has become a common story across industries this year.

What this means for the job market

For workers, the trend offers a bit of reassurance heading into the second half of 2026. Roles cut for AI reasons are not necessarily gone for good, and companies burned once by hasty automation bets appear more cautious about repeating the mistake.

For employers, the lesson is more about sequencing. Institutional knowledge and customer relationships are expensive to rebuild once lost. No AI system yet fills that gap on its own.

IBM’s bet is that a steady pipeline of junior hires pays off in three to five years, not in this quarter’s headcount numbers.