Global CEOs split on GenAI's impact on jobs, automation concerns rise

For instance, DBS Group expects its workforce to reduce by 10 per cent, or 4,000 employees, over the next three to four years

Global executives are divided on the impact of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) on jobs. While some feel that the all-pervasive, revolutionary technology is already making employees redundant at various levels, others say AI and automation will not replace human intelligence.

 

For instance, DBS Group expects its workforce to shrink by 10 per cent, or 4,000 employees, over the next three to four years as the Singaporean bank’s operations become more automated and less human-intensive.

 

“This year, my current projection is that in the next three years, we are going to shrink our workforce by 4,000, or 10 per cent,” DBS Bank’s Chief Executive Officer Piyush Gupta said at a Nasscom event on Monday. While the bank later clarified that those jobs would be temporary, it shows that many operations may not need any human intervention at all.

 

Gupta added that AI is different from any other technology adopted in the past, and for the first time in his over 15-year stint, he is struggling to create new jobs. Unlike a decade ago, when many roles in the bank were repurposed due to digitisation, this time, the scenario is different.

 

That also means employees need better training and higher skill sets — especially in GenAI, data analytics, and cybersecurity — to stay relevant and move up the value chain or risk being made redundant.

 

“GenAI has fast-tracked automation by eight years, and the talent gap is intensifying,” Nasscom President Rajesh Nambiar said on Monday.

 

The information technology (IT) industry body’s data shows that while more than 400,000 engineers in India are trained in AI, only 73,000 have advanced AI skills, highlighting the skill gap and the upskilling efforts companies must undertake to keep employees updated and relevant.

 

Sindhu Gangadharan, chairperson of Nasscom and managing director of SAP Labs India, however, said that AI and automation will not replace human intelligence. Nasscom's data also shows that India will create 2.7 million new AI jobs by 2028.

 

“AI will not replace humans. Those who do not use AI will be replaced by those who do. The technology will act as a bridge, a force for good, and an enabler. What we need is large-scale upskilling. There will be a 45 per cent increase in the productivity of IT companies by 2030,” Gangadharan said.

 

Many believe the segment most impacted will be the business process outsourcing (BPO) business model, which is vulnerable to AI because of its legacy structure.

 

“We believe there is a clear opportunity with AI to productise and unbundle the BPO. This is exciting for several reasons. From a technical perspective, there’s a clear ‘why now’: modern AI has become exceptionally good at handling work that couldn’t previously be done adequately with software. Core foundation models are rapidly improving at data extraction, deep research, and complex reasoning, while voice AI agents are mature enough for large-scale production, with browser agents soon to follow,” venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz said in a blog this month. 

Positive impact 

> India’s AI talent pool is expected to grow by 1.25 mn by 2027

> AI is projected to create 2.7 mn new jobs in India by 2028

> 65% of professionals believe GenAI is a game-changer

> Over 400,000 individuals trained in AI under the FutureSkills Prime initiative

  Negative impact

  > DBS Bank predicts a 10% workforce reduction, with 4,000 job cuts over the next three years

> Indian IT majors HCLTech and Infosys acknowledge that revenue growth is no longer tied to headcount expansion

> HCLTech’s C Vijayakumar emphasises need for the IT firms to reinvent and reimagine itself