How AI is changing employment, salaries and job roles across Indian companies

As AI adoptions are increasing in pace, the job market in India is clearly changing. Seniors and highly skilled roles see strong demand, but this is another story for entry-level recruitment, especially in IT and business process outsourcing (BPO).

Ramani Dathi, Chief Financial Officer of TeamLease Services, said: Pressure is most noticeable for people with 4 years of experience from zero. Companies are slowing employment and pay growth is under pressure.

However, the impact is not entirely the same. The role of AI and machine learning is booming. “In the Global Capacity Centre (GCCS), AI-related employment growth has been incredible, either 30% to 50%. The GCC sector itself has grown by an AI-focused role and has grown by 10% over the past year.

Surprisingly, BPO is often seen as vulnerable to automation, but it worked. “BPO's work on the Subaubus 5 Rak bracket is still in high demand and outweighs supply,” Goyal said, challenging the idea that automation will quickly wipe out the role of customer support.

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The job market is split into two tracks. Senior experts and those with niche skills such as AI, machine learning (ML), cloud computing, cybersecurity, leading premiums, but their daily roles and fresh employment are under scrutiny. “If you have AI skills, your chances of getting a job are very high,” Goyal added, noting that the pay gap between AI engineers and regular software engineers is substantial.

Still, there are big questions left. Will AI create more work or is it cutting off? Goyal sums it up well: “Do businesses do more and more?”

While some roles shrink as productivity increases, new opportunities are also emerging.

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Large IT companies have yet to announce job cuts or AI-related unemployment on large campuses. Most people invest in value their workforce.

However, both experts warn that entry-level hiring may remain slow for now, even as AI ends up creating new roles over time.

TeamLease Services currently has a market capitalization of around 3,345 crores. That stock has dumped almost 33% over the past year. In contrast, Naukri.com's parent company Info Edge (India), has a market capitalization of 97,003 crore, with its shares earning around 12% over the same period.

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