India’s $283 billion IT industry, a cornerstone of white-collar employment, faces significant disruption as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the job landscape in 2025, according to a Times of India report. With automation reducing demand for traditional roles like coding and data entry, companies like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have announced layoffs, cutting 12,000 jobs, or 2% of its workforce, primarily in middle to senior roles. However, AI is also sparking new opportunities in fields like data science and machine learning, prompting calls for upskilling to secure India’s position as a global tech hub.
TCS, India’s largest IT firm with 601,000 employees, cited skill mismatches, not AI, as the reason for its layoffs, aiming to become “future-ready” by investing in AI deployment, per CEO K Krithivasan. Yet, industry experts like former HCL CEO Vineet Nayar warn that AI could reduce IT workforce needs by 70%, automating tasks like coding, testing, and maintenance. “The skills of employees for coding, testing, maintenance, responding to trouble tickets, all that will be taken over by AI,” Nayar told India Today. This aligns with a 2024 Layoffs.fyi report noting 32,000 global tech job cuts, with Indian firms like TCS, Infosys, and Wipro losing 63,000 jobs last year due to automation and reduced outsourcing demand.
Despite these challenges, AI is creating new roles. The World Economic Forum projects AI will generate 12 million more jobs than it displaces by 2025, with demand for AI specialists, data scientists, and IoT experts rising. India’s talent pool of 416,000 AI professionals falls short of the 629,000 needed, expected to hit 1 million by 2026, per Wheebox. “AI is a force multiplier,” said Redrob’s Felix Kim, emphasizing its potential to enhance productivity. A ServiceNow study predicts AI could create 2.73 million jobs in India by 2028, particularly in software development and data engineering.
Key impacts of AI on Indian IT include:
- Job Automation: Coding, testing, and call center roles face significant displacement.
- New Opportunities: Roles in AI development, data science, and prompt engineering are growing.
- Upskilling Needs: Only 20% of IT professionals are AI-skilled, per Nasscom.
Government initiatives like FutureSkills PRIME and YUVAi aim to bridge the skill gap, while the Economic Survey 2025 urges robust institutions to manage AI’s labor impact. “Letting go of existing staff and hiring fresh graduates at low cost would be unethical and disastrous for India,” Nayar warned, advocating for reskilling over layoffs. As AI transforms India’s IT sector, balancing automation with workforce development remains critical to sustaining economic growth and supporting the middle class.
Sources: Times of India, India Today, World Economic Forum, ServiceNow, Economic Survey 2025, Wheebox National Employability Test, Layoffs.fyi, X posts
