Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder and CEO of Paytm, has made bold predictions about the pervasive influence of artificial intelligence (AI) in the job market, suggesting that a significant wave of ‘mass industrialisation’ led by AI is imminent within the next five years.
Sharma’s assertions, shared on a platform labeled as X, emphasized the underestimation of AI’s overarching impact. He highlighted an anticipated shift where numerous jobs currently performed by humans will be ‘mass industrialised’ by AI technologies in the coming half-decade.
This statement arrives in the wake of recent AI-driven layoffs within Paytm, where the Noida-based fintech company implemented workforce reductions, reportedly affecting over a thousand employees. The company rationalized these measures by citing AI’s efficiency in surpassing expected outcomes, leading to estimated savings of 10-15% in employee costs.
In an era where AI-generated ‘influencers’ are capable of generating significant revenue, Sharma expressed astonishment in a separate post, noting the earnings of AI-created influencers reaching more than ₹80,000 per post.
One97 Communications Limited, the parent company of Paytm, justified the recent layoffs by emphasizing their strategic expansion into sectors like insurance and wealth management. They cited these moves as extensions of their ongoing focus on existing business domains.
Reports from Entrackr shed light on Paytm’s previous workforce reductions in 2021 and 2022, where sizable numbers—4,080 and over 20,000 employees respectively—were laid off during those years.
Sharma’s forward-looking predictions regarding AI’s impact on job markets signal a pivotal shift in the way industries operate. The convergence of AI-driven efficiencies and strategic business expansions, as seen in Paytm’s case, underscores the evolving landscape where technology continues to redefine operational paradigms and workforce structures.
Sources By Agencies
