A five-year plan is underway at IBM to invest $150 billion in US-based development of technologies like quantum computing and AIA five-year plan is underway at IBM to invest $150 billion in US-based development of technologies like quantum computing and AI, building on a business priority that’s had implications for the company’s 300,000-person workforce.

The technology company overhauled its HR department back in 2017, developing an AI chatbot called AskHR to handle queries that were previously directed to HR business partners. Less than a decade later, in May 2025, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said AI had replaced the work of several hundred HR workers, allowing the company to hire additional programmers and salespeople.

Pursuing such AI-driven transformations prompted IBM to rethink its talent and total rewards strategies, CHRO Nickle LaMoreaux recently told HR Brew. The company regularly shares information with employees detailing how it expects skills and job roles to evolve, and places a premium on skills development, which in turn affects workers’ base pay, she said.

For more on why IBM ties base pay to skills, keep reading here.—CV

Marathon Health is a different kind of healthcare company, working directly with businesses, governments, and unions to meet the healthcare needs of their employees and members. Its CPO, Allison Velez, understands the weight of her work in the people department.

“When you do HR work in healthcare, you have a very clear line of sight to the patient, and that is meaningful to me. It’s important. It brings a lot of fulfillment to me and to my team,” she said. “We know that the work we’re doing is really helping people, not just our teammates or our employees, but actually the patients and the clients that we serve.”

She said that’s motivated her approach to leading the HR function for the independent advanced primary care provider. She sees her team as a business within a business.

For more from our conversation with Velez, keep reading here.—AD

HR spending is facing a noticeable pullback.

Just 29% of CFOs plan to increase HR spending in 2026, while 22% expect to cut HR budgets, according to Gartner’s latest budget benchmarks report, released in early February. That reduces “average budget growth from 2.4% in 2025 to 0.7% in 2026 due to reduced hiring and AI efficiency gains,” the report noted.

Meanwhile, “after years of compensation-led budget growth,” pay increases slowed for three cycles in a row, “dropping from 6.1% in 2024 to 5.4% in 2025, and the moderation will deepen to 4.5% in 2026,” according to the report.

For more on Gartner’s findings, keep reading on CFO Brew.—NP

Welcome to People Person! In this episode, Morning Brew’s SVP, Head of People Operations Kate Noel, sits down with Grüns Chief People Officer Jaime Petkanics to unpack the real value of exit interviews—and how to make them almost unnecessary. From the questions HR leaders wish they could ask to culture-revealing hypotheticals, they share practical insights to boost retention before employees start eyeing the door.