By Isabelle Bousquette

Moderna's move to merge technology and human resources into a single function is the latest sign that artificial intelligence is bringing big changes to the workforce.

The biotech company late last year announced the creation of a new role, chief people and digital technology officer, promoting its human resources chief Tracey Franklin to the spot.

Franklin said she is redesigning teams across the company based on what work is best done by people versus what can be automated with technology, including the tech it leverages from a partnership with AI giant OpenAI. Roles are being created, eliminated and reimagined as a result, she said.

Corporate tech leaders are working more closely than ever with their HR counterparts to navigate AI's impact on the workforce. A number of companies cite rising AI efficiencies for job cuts.

But it's still rare to see the two roles officially merge, in part because they require unique skill-sets, said Christopher Desautel, independent chief information officer and startup adviser, and formerly chief digital officer at Berkshire Hathaway Homestate.

Franklin said moving into the role was a natural evolution for her. She had been working closely with then-CIO Brad Miller on a yearslong effort to reassess the needs of each department and redesign them with an optimal mix of human workers and technology systems.

Miller, who spearheaded a number of efforts including the company's partnership with OpenAI, left Moderna in February.

There was a lot of room to reorganize and streamline after the pandemic, according to Franklin. During the Covid-19 outbreak, the company was in a chaotic race to hire to speed its first-ever commercial product, the Covid-19 vaccine, to market. Moderna nearly doubled the size of its workforce, from about 830 employees as of March 31, 2020, to approximately 1,500 employees as of March 31, 2021. Now, it has more than 5,000 employees globally.

The OpenAI deal also had a transformative impact on the workforce, she said.

The company now has developed over 3,000 tailored versions of ChatGPT, called GPTs, that are designed to facilitate specific tasks, including dose selection for clinical trials and helping draft responses to questions from regulators.

GPTs can also be strung together to execute more complicated workflows. For example, the company has a broad human resources GPT that can digest employee questions and then route them to GPTs focused on performance management, equity or benefits.

"It's like your virtual HR, AI agent. It's what would normally be a junior-level HR analyst type, we've now converted into a GPT," she said.

Franklin declined to comment specifically on exact areas where roles were being eliminated.

In February, the company said it was cutting 10% of digital technology jobs, affecting about 50 people.

Lower demand for its Covid-19 vaccine has hurt sales. Earlier this month, Moderna reported a $971 million first-quarter loss, dragged down by lower product sales. The company said it expects demand to increase during the cold and flu season later this year.

Franklin added that as the company launches more products, it will still continue to increase head count.

Wade Davis, head of digital for business at Moderna and one of Franklin's direct reports, said the number of GPTs at the company is growing daily.

"It's hard to convey -- within the hype -- how much AI is changing things and how much Moderna is using it across the board," he said.

Write to Isabelle Bousquette at isabelle.bousquette@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 12, 2025 07:00 ET (11:00 GMT)

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