3 weeks ago
India AI Hiring Outpaces Layoffs, Nomura Report Shows
A report from Nomura, a big financial company, looked at how artificial intelligence is changing jobs.
Artificial intelligence, or AI, means computers that can do tasks people usually do.
The report studied India and other countries in Asia from 2022 to 2026.
It found that in India, AI helped create 83,100 new jobs.
During the same time, about 31,921 people lost jobs or left their companies.
Most of the people who lost jobs worked in support teams that were replaced by chatbots, which are computer programs that answer customers' questions.
The new jobs mostly went to IT graduates, and companies said AI was the reason for hiring them.
The report says this is different from the scary story that AI destroys many jobs.
But it also warns that people who lose their jobs rarely become AI engineers, so the good numbers can hide real pain for some workers.
India recorded 83,100 AI-related hires versus 31,921 layoffs and attrition between 2022 and August 2026, according to a Nomura Holdings report.
Nomura economists Sonal Varma and Si Ying Toh called India "ground zero" for evaluating AI's impact on jobs due to its large workforce and technology-services industry.
Most firing cases involve support teams replaced by chatbots, while most hiring involves IT-services graduates that firms explicitly credit to AI demand.
Across Asia, AI-related hiring totaled 130,758 jobs (more than 90% in technology), compared with 60,654 jobs lost (about 60% in financial services).
Economists said the findings run counter to the narrative of massive job losses, but warned that displaced workers rarely transition to AI engineering roles, masking "distributional pain."
- Who
- Nomura Holdings Inc. economists Sonal Varma and Si Ying Toh, who authored the report on AI's impact on employment.
- What
- AI-related hiring in India (83,100) exceeded layoffs and attrition (31,921), countering the narrative of massive AI-driven job losses.
- Where
- India, described as "ground zero" for AI's impact on employment, with findings also covering Asia including China and the Philippines.
- When
- The analysis covered the period from 2022 through August 2026, and the report was released Friday.
- Why
- Companies are hiring AI-related talent, especially IT-services graduates, while support teams are increasingly replaced by chatbots.
AI Job Optimists
AI Job Skeptics
Net effect on jobs
AI Job Optimists
AI-related hiring (83,100 in India) far exceeds layoffs, running counter to the narrative of massive job losses; new jobs more than make up for those displaced in the early phase of the AI revolution.
AI Job Skeptics
Headline numbers mask distributional pain; displaced workers rarely transition to AI engineering roles, so aggregate gains hide who actually loses.
Impact on different workers
AI Job Optimists
Firms explicitly credit hiring of IT-services graduates to AI demand, showing AI creates new career opportunities.
AI Job Skeptics
AI is creating a two-tier labor market in countries like India and Korea, reducing demand for entry-level workers while boosting demand only for more experienced employees.
Key facts
- AI-related hires in India
- 83,100
- Layoffs and attrition in India
- 31,921
- Study period
- 2022 through August 2026
- Cases analyzed
- 69 across Asia
- AI-related hires across Asia
- 130,758
- Jobs lost across Asia
- 60,654
- Sector of most AI hires
- Technology (over 90%)
- Sector of most job losses
- Financial services (about 60%)
Quotes
Nomura economists Sonal Varma and Si Ying Toh
Economists from Nomura Holdings who authored the report
“Most firing cases are support teams replaced by chatbots, while most hiring cases are of IT‑services graduates that firms explicitly credit to AI demand.”
NDTV
livemint.com
“Since displaced workers rarely transition to AI engineering roles, the aggregates do mask distributional pain.”
NDTV
Sources
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