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India’s IT sector is shedding jobs, and it’s raising tough questions about what’s driving the cuts. While slowing global demand is a key factor, analysts are also watching how artificial intelligence might be reshaping roles in an industry long seen as a pillar of the country’s economic growth.
The country’s largest private sector employer, Tata Consultancy Services, which employs over half a million IT workers, announced last month that it would cut more than 12,000 jobs from mostly the middle and senior management levels, equating to 2% of its global workforce — in what will be its biggest layoff so far.
The company’s CEO and managing director K Krithivasan attributed the move to “limited deployment opportunities and skill-mismatch” rather than AI. But that did not quell growing unease within the country, as many viewed the layoffs as a sign of broader and disruptive changes underway in the IT sector, amplified by the growing influence of AI.
TCS and its peers have long relied on India’s vast pool of low-cost, skilled labor to produce software services, a model now coming under pressure as AI is set to automate repetitive tasks and as global clients demand higher levels of innovation.
