66% AI workers in India expect layoffs in few months
What's the story
A recent survey by Blind, an anonymous community app for professionals, has revealed that 66% of employees in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) roles expect layoffs or significant headcount reductions within the next three to six months. The survey was conducted among 1,552 India-based professionals. The level of concern among these workers is similar to those in sales and marketing as well as product and design roles.
Job security concerns
AI, ML roles equally vulnerable to job-cut fears
The survey results indicate that AI and ML roles are not immune to job-cut fears.
The findings show that these positions are viewed as equally vulnerable as those in sales, marketing, product, and design.
This suggests that, despite the rapid adoption of AI in global workforces, workers in these fields don't necessarily feel secure about their jobs.
Job security
Engineers least likely to expect layoff
Interestingly, the survey found that only 24% of engineers think a layoff is "very likely." This is the lowest percentage among all functions surveyed.
The overall at-risk sentiment for this group (58%) is also below the survey average.
Data and analytics professionals also have a lower at-risk sentiment (51%), with four in 10 workers considering a cut unlikely, the highest among all teams surveyed.
Fear factors
Layoff fears triggered by subtle indicators
The fear of layoffs among workers expecting a headcount cut comes from signs like hiring freezes (27%) and budget or headcount-target cuts (24%).
Formal layoff announcements only account for 9%.
This shows that the fear of job loss is not always directly linked to official announcements but can also be triggered by other subtle indicators.