The Fear Is Real, Even for AI Experts
It was long assumed that working in AI would be the safest career path in an automated world. A recent survey throws that assumption into question. According to a July 2026 poll of 1,552 Indian professionals by the anonymous platform Blind, 66% of employees
in AI and Machine Learning roles expect layoffs or headcount reductions in their teams within the next six months. This places them among the most anxious groups in the tech sector, nearly on par with sales and marketing professionals (68%) and slightly ahead of product and design teams (65%). Surprisingly, the people building the AI systems feel almost as vulnerable as those in roles AI is expected to replace. This anxiety isn't based on formal announcements, but on quieter signals like hiring freezes and budget cuts, which employees see as clear warning signs.
But Hiring Growth Continues to Outpace Losses
While fear of job cuts is palpable, the bigger picture shows that AI is currently a net job creator in India. A separate report from Nomura in August 2026 found that India has seen 83,100 AI-related hires, significantly outpacing the 31,921 layoffs and attrition linked to the technology. This translates to roughly 2.6 new AI-related jobs for every role impacted. This makes India “ground zero” for understanding AI’s employment impact, given its large workforce and role as a global back-office hub. The data suggests that, at least in these early stages, AI is fueling job creation more than destruction, running counter to the narrative of mass unemployment.
The Great Divide: A Two-Tier Job Market
The reason for this paradox lies in who is being hired and who is being let go. The jobs being created are not the same ones being eliminated. The Nomura report highlights the emergence of a “two-tier” labour market. AI is displacing roles that involve routine tasks, such as banking back-office operations, customer service, and junior-level coding and testing. This has led to a sharp decline in entry-level hiring, with one survey noting that 55% of IT firms reported a fall in recruiting freshers. At the same time, demand is surging for experienced professionals who possess specialised AI skills and a deeper understanding of business context. Companies are no longer mass-hiring and training graduates for basic tasks; they are seeking experts who can immediately add value in a more automated environment.
Who Feels the Safest?
Interestingly, the Blind survey revealed that traditional engineering roles feel comparatively secure. While it was once predicted that code-generating AI would make engineers obsolete, only 24% of them described a layoff as “very likely”—the lowest of any function surveyed. Overall, their at-risk sentiment stood at 58%, which was below the survey average. Professionals in data and analytics reported even higher confidence, with only 51% feeling at risk. This suggests that while AI is changing how software is developed and data is analysed, the core skills in these fields remain highly valued, perhaps even more so than working on AI models directly, where the field is evolving at a breakneck pace.
The New Workplace Imperative: Adapt or Perish
The message from these latest findings is clear: AI is not just a job killer, but a job transformer. The anxiety felt by workers, even those within AI teams, reflects the rapid churn and uncertainty in the market. The growth in hiring, meanwhile, points to where the new opportunities lie. The friction is in the middle—the widening gap between the skills being displaced and the skills in demand. For the Indian workforce, this presents a monumental challenge and opportunity. The traditional career ladder, where graduates learned on the job in entry-level roles, is being dismantled. The future of work in the age of AI will not be about avoiding automation, but about continuous upskilling and adapting to a landscape where human expertise is augmented, not replaced, by technology. The focus has shifted from mass recruitment to acquiring specialised talent capable of navigating the new AI-driven economy.
