Artificial intelligence-linked hiring in India is currently outpacing job losses associated with the technology, even as its adoption begins to reshape the types of roles companies are looking to fill, according to a report by Nomura Holdings.
India recorded 83,100 AI-related hires during the period analysed by Nomura, compared with 31,921 layoffs and attrition cases linked to the technology. The findings position India as one of the key markets for assessing AI’s evolving impact on employment as businesses accelerate adoption across technology, services and other sectors.
Nomura economists Sonal Varma and Si Ying Toh analysed 69 reported instances across Asia, mostly covering the period from 2022 through August 2026. The report found that India has experienced the largest absolute impact from AI across recruitment, layoffs and hiring freezes, reflecting the scale of its workforce and its role as a major technology and business services hub.
According to the report, many of the job losses linked to AI have occurred in support functions, where chatbots and automated systems are increasingly handling tasks previously performed by employees. At the same time, hiring has been concentrated in technology and IT services, with companies adding graduates and professionals to meet demand associated with AI.
The trend is also creating differences in demand across experience levels. Nomura found that AI adoption is contributing to a two-tier labour market in countries including India and South Korea. Demand for some entry-level positions is coming under pressure, while experienced professionals with stronger business knowledge and specialised capabilities are seeing greater opportunities.
The pattern extends beyond India. Across Asia, AI-related hiring totalled 130,758 positions during the period examined, with more than 90 per cent of the new roles concentrated in the technology sector. This compared with 60,654 reported job losses, around 60 per cent of which were in financial services.
The findings indicate that AI-linked job creation has so far exceeded displacement across the cases tracked by Nomura. Similar patterns were observed in other large Asian economies, including China, as well as the Philippines, where the business process outsourcing sector accounts for a significant share of employment.
However, the report also highlighted that aggregate hiring numbers do not capture the impact on individual workers. Employees displaced from support and other functions may not necessarily possess the technical skills required to move directly into AI engineering, data science or other specialised positions being created as companies invest in the technology.
This skills mismatch is becoming a key part of the employment impact of AI. Rather than producing a uniform increase or decline in jobs, adoption is changing the composition of corporate workforces as businesses automate certain functions while recruiting for roles connected to AI implementation and development.
Nomura also cautioned against treating the figures as absolute employment numbers for the region. Asia’s labour market is fragmented, and the analysis was based on reported corporate announcements and other news reports. The numbers are therefore intended to indicate emerging employment patterns rather than provide a complete measurement of AI-related hiring and job displacement.
For India, the findings come as technology companies and global capability centres continue to increase demand for AI, data science and automation skills. The emerging picture suggests that AI’s early impact on employment is not limited to job displacement, with the technology simultaneously creating demand for new skills while reducing the need for some existing roles.