GenAI to reshape workforce, GCCs to cushion job impact

Goldman Sachs report.

The report estimates that GenAI could automate 9-17% of tasks currently performed by India’s non-agricultural workforce. However 8-12% of jobs face a meaningful risk of substitution, while 42-48% are more likely to be augmented by AI, allowing workers to focus on more complex tasks.

For India’s technology sector, the findings challenge the narrative that AI will sharply reduce employment. While routine coding, software testing, documentation and business process services are increasingly vulnerable to automation, the broader technology ecosystem continues to expand, supported by multinational companies setting up global capability centres (GCCs) and growing demand for digital engineering and AI implementation.

GCCs are expected to play a crucial role in cushioning the employment impact. India now hosts 2,117 GCCs generating nearly $98 billion in revenue. The report notes that employment reductions have largely been confined to India’s six largest IT services firms, which together cut about 64,000 jobs over the past three years.

In contrast, the rest of the technology services industry-including GCCs-added nearly 700,000 employees during the same period, taking the total headcount to about 4.4 million.