Automation in IT/BPO sector may lead to loss of 7 lakh jobs by 2022

New Delhi:  About 7 lakh low-skilled workers in IT and BPO industry in India are likely to lose their jobs to automation and artificial intelligence by 2022, says a report by US-based research firm HfS Research. However, it is not a bad news for everyone, as the report predicts that medium and high skilled jobs will see a rise during the said period.

Due to a rise in adoption of automation and artificial intelligence, the number of low-skilled workers in the domestic IT and BPO service sectors could fall from 24 lakh in 2016 to 17 lakh in 2022, it said.

However, the number of medium skilled jobs in IT/BPO industry in India could rise from 9,00,000 to 10,00,000 by 2022, while the number of high skilled jobs could rise to 5,10,000 in 2022 from 3,20,000 in 2016.

The trend in India reflects the global scenario, as globally low-skilled IT/BPO jobs are expected to fall by 31 per cent, while medium skilled jobs may increase by 13 per cent and high skilled jobs may rise by 57 per cent.

Following the adoption of automation, the net job loss in Indian IT/BPO sector across skill levels is expected to be around 4,50,000, from 36.5 lakh in 2016 to 32 lakh in 2022.

The report noted that following the adoption of automation, globally total jobs in the IT/BPO space are expected to fall by 7.5 per cent with major countries like India, the US and the UK being hit.

According to the report, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is merely accelerating the elimination of rote jobs (routine jobs). "The emergence of RPA is eventually going to sound the death knell for most high-throughput, high-intensity jobs, as both service providers and enterprises master the ability to apply these technologies effectively," it said.

It further said, "the next five years we can manage, it's the five after that when the impact on labour becomes much more challenging."