Report on 3 million jobs losses incorrect, IT sector hired 1.38 lakh in FY21: NASSCOM

Indian IT-BPM sector continues to be a net-hirer of skilled talent, clarifies IT industry body NASSCOM, after a report suggested that the sector could face 3 million job losses in 2022.

A recent report by Bank of America (BofA) Securities revealed that the Indian IT outsourcing companies could see 30 percent reduction in low-skilled jobs globally by 2022 due to robotic process automation upskilling. This, the report said, translates to 3 million jobs losses.

In response, NASSCOM said in a statement, “With the evolution of technology and increasing automation, the nature of traditional IT jobs and roles will evolve overall leading to creation of newer jobs. The Industry continues to be a net hirer of skilled talent, adding 138,000 people in FY2021.”

The agency also said that the sector has upskilled 2.5 lakh employees in digital skills and hired 40,000 freshers. “With strong deal pipeline it is set to become $300-350 billion industry by 2025,” it said in the statement. Currently, IT-BPM sector revenue is about $194 billion.

In addition, NASSCOM said that automation and RPA has been maturing in the last 3 years and has led to a net creation of jobs for the BPM sector. "The addressable opportunity for BPM according to a NASSCOM-McKinsey Report is $180-220 billion, leaving significant headroom for growth and jobs," it added.

Indian IT industry has been one of the biggest gainers of the pandemic. IT firms saw record deal wins during the pandemic. For instance, TCS clocked deals worth a record $9.2 billion in Q4 FY21, its highest ever in a quarter amid a total of over $31.5 billion over the last fiscal. Its peer Infosys won $14 billion in total, with over 60 percent in net new deals. Wipro signed 12 large deals with the total contract value of $1.4 billion in Q4 FY21.

Hundreds of are jobs are up for grabs and companies are willing to pay premium to attract and retain quality talent. Moneycontrol earlier reported that the top IT firms could hire close to a lakh freshers in FY22, in addition to experienced professionals. This has come at the back of increased demand for software services as more companies digitize operations at the back of the pandemic.