AI-driven change without immediate human replacement

For quite some time now, the corporate rush to adopt artificial intelligence has been quickly associated with job loss or replacement concerns. Globally, AI is increasingly cited as one of the major reasons for layoffs. Despite this widespread perception, the impact of AI on jobs remains highly concentrated in certain sectors, especially tech.
Many companies are allocating resources differently in response to AI and announcing job cuts in certain areas, but continue to hire in other areas. As many workers worry about sluggish hiring, another observation is that the open jobs are not replacing the jobs that were lost. Goldman Sachs estimates that AI could disrupt up to 300 million jobs globally over the coming years.
The AI story is not only about Silicon Valley; it is impacting service work and white-collar roles across regions. Typically, the non-tech areas getting impacted are customer support, management consultancy, finance, administrative work and manufacturing.
Against this backdrop, IKEA, the Swedish retailer, offers a counterpoint to widespread concerns that AI adoption will primarily lead to job losses.
Reported by Reuters in 2023, the IKEA case has since become a reference point in debates about AI, reskilling and the future of work.
The story of IKEA’s AI strategy highlights how automation can reshape roles instead of eliminating them.
In a widely discussed case, IKEA introduced a chatbot called Billie to manage first-level customer interactions, track orders, handle product queries and support general operations. The system effectively handles roughly 47 per cent of customer conversations without any human intervention.
This move has significantly reduced the operational load on support teams. This reflects a broader industry trend in which companies are using AI to automate high-volume and repetitive tasks.
Upon further analysis, IKEA recognised that many unresolved queries required human input, as many were advisory rather than transactional.
This insight led to a new business model. Instead of downsising, IKEA soon recognised the gap and began reskilling a section of its customer service workforce to transition employees to providing specialised, value-added consultancy services.
IKEA reskilled 8500 employees into advisor roles for interior design, styling, home planning support and, most importantly, unlocked an impressive €1.4 billion in new revenue.
IKEA not only generated additional revenue but also leveraged automation for scale and speed; and created an entirely new service line that utilised human intelligence for judgement-intensive tasks.
Instead of making employee roles redundant, IKEA applied forward thinking and identified potential in its workforce. IKEA has demonstrated that AI and human intelligence can coexist and thrive together. This shows that technology need not always replace humans, but can enable people to make valuable contributions that drive company growth.
Another critical takeaway is that reskilling must align with organisational strategic goals. The roadmap for businesses is to navigate AI challenges and design specialised, target-focused reskilling initiatives for new demand.
Though layoffs will be an inevitable aspect of companies, the real test of leadership is ensuring that they are done only after every effort has been made to reskill and redeploy people transparently and consciously.
Today we have businesses that employ AI for expansion and businesses that use it primarily for cost-cutting, establishing a two-track labour market.
The IKEA instance highlights the significance of considering both ‘what can AI replace’ and ‘what work humans can do better once routine work is automated’.