Hence, domestic software firms are to cut down the number of employees by at least 3 million by 2022, a report says.
“TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL, Tech Mahindra and Cognizant and others appear to be planning for a 3 million reduction in low-skilled roles by 2022 because of RPA up-skilling. “This is a USD 100-billion in reduced salary and other costs, but on the flip side, it offers a likely a USD 10 billion boon for IT companies that successfully implement RPA, and another a USD5 billion opportunity from a vibrant new software niche by 2022. Given that robots can function for 24 hrs a day, this represents a significant saving of up to 10:1 versus the human labour, says the report.
Out of 16 million employed by the domestic IT sector, 9 million are employed in low-skilled services and BPO roles, out of which 30% or around 3 million will be cut off by 2022. RPA alone could replace 0.7 million roles and the rest with other technological improvements. This downsizing will release around USD 100 billion in annual salaries and associated expenses for corporates, the report says.
RPA helps out with high-volume tasks and hence allows the employees to concentrate on more differentiated tasks like innovating, collaborating and creating. Faster automation is driven by the shrinking talent pool of high-skilled jobs in developing economies, the need for which will only jump, but the global high-skill talent pool is shrinking and exposing outmoded immigration systems, the report explains. The report also warns that developing economies like India and China would face the most risk of technology-driven disruptions which can impact up to 85 percent of jobs in countries like Kenya and Bangladesh.
