Layoffs Not Coming Due to GenAI: Indian Tech Giants Including Infosys, Wipro, HCLTech Focused on Upskilling Employees Than Laying Them Off
Amid rising global tech layoffs due to generative AI, the Indian tech companies are focusing on skilling their workforce instead of laying them off. The companies are reportedly integrating new technology in their systems and focusing on the development of the employees.
New Delhi, August 31: Tech layoffs in 2024 affected thousands of employees working in different departments from January to August. The employees working in the tech industry were laid off in the US, China, Israel, and other countries. August was one of the biggest months for tech layoffs due to companies like Intel, Cisco Systems, IBM, and Apple.
So far, 422 tech companies have laid off around 1.36 lakh employees in 2024. August affected a higher number of employees due to tech giants like Intel and Cisco announcing massive rounds of layoffs affecting more than 15,000 people in the workforce. Also, tech giants like Dell and Infineon announced to cut thousands of people. Qoo10 Layoffs: Singapore’s E-Commerce Company Lays Off Nearly 80% of Staff Amid Challenging Market Condition and Restructuring.
While companies like Intel announced 15,000 job cuts, Dell 12,500, and others confirmed laying off thousands of people, Indian IT firms like Infosys, Wipro, and HCL confirmed that no layoffs would be announced due to the integration of GenAI. Rather than cutting their workforce, these tech giants said they would train their employees and hone their skills in this innovative technology.
Moneycontrol reported that GenAI, or Generative AI, is deemed a promising technology still dangerous to the Indian workforce and has made waves across the sectors. The question remains whether the uprising of this technology replace humans in the future. Infosys CEO Salil Parekh answered this question recently, saying that no layoffs would be announced in the short future and emphasised that the company was focusing on upskilling the employees instead of laying them off. The group head of HR development, Shaji Mathew, said the company was training nearly 2.7 lakh employees in GenAI.
Wipro, another tech giant, said it would focus on augmentation instead of replacement. The company further mentioned it would bring transformation in domains such as HR, marketing, and client delivery, confirming the integration of AI into its client projects and internal processes. HCLTech, another India-based company, said artificial intelligence's predictive abilities would help revolutionise the recruitment process and offer personalised job recommendations. To upskill its employees, HCLTech also partnered with tech giants like Intel, IBM, and Nvidia. Goldman Sachs Layoffs: Investment Banking Firm To Lay Off Over 1,300 Employees as Part of Annual Review Process, Says Report.
TCS, currently the largest IT company in India, set up the AI Experience Zones to help the employees and engineers learn more about artificial intelligence and generative AI. Several reports said India would become the global AI hub in the coming years and create more jobs.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 31, 2024 04:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).