As AI waits in the wings, IT sector must prepare for changing labour needs

There are important implications for the sector in India. As this newspaper has reported, the effects of AI are being felt in the information technology (IT) business

News that Microsoft will lay off about 6,000 of its employees has focused attention on how labour requirements in the software and information technology-enabled services (ITeS) sectors are shifting due to explosive growth in generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI). Microsoft is well known for easing its movement towards new growth and research areas by pruning its workforce and transferring resources to novel technologies. This appears to be occurring in this case, with a planned investment of $80 billion this financial year creating a need to constantly reduce the company’s salary bill. Its competitors have already taken similar action. They include