Exclusive: AI will lead to IT companies needing 70 per cent fewer people, says former HCL CEO Vineet Nayar

Many industries are currently in the middle of a makeover, partly forced by the arrival of generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot. And one of the industries where AI tools are making headway is the IT industry, so much so that alarm bells are ringing over their impact on jobs and workforce requirements. Industry veteran and former HCL CEO Vineet Nayar tells India Today Tech that AI is undoubtedly going to impact people working in the Indian IT industry in a big way.

How big? Nayar sounds alarming, but also prescient. According to him, the number is 70 per cent fewer people. In an exclusive conversation with India Today Tech about the impact of AI on tech companies in India, Nayar says: "Because of automation, IT companies will need 70 per cent less people than they used to for the same task.”

Such predictions have been made by other industry veterans as well. Recently, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang predicted that AI would replace coders in the future. Nayar agrees with the sentiment. "The skills of employees for coding, testing, maintenance, responding to trouble tickets, all that will be taken over by AIâ€æthese skills will become obsolete," Nayar predicts.

As AI tools increasingly function with almost human-level efficiency, it will create pressure and challenges for Indian IT companies. They will also be tempted to reduce their workforce and fire people. Nayar, however, believes that they should not give in to the temptation. He says that it will not be "ethical" for Indian IT companies to go on a firing spree. It may also be dangerous for the future of the Indian IT industry, he suggests.