‘Tough time for entry-level IT developers...’: Mumbai-based CEO rings alarm for fresh grads

The warning signs are getting louder for India’s tech talent pool. Udit Goenka, Founder & CEO of TinyCheque, posted on X that entry-level IT developers will struggle to find jobs in 2025. His advice to fresh graduates? “Focus on building live products and make them open source. That’s the only way you can showcase your talent and land a job.” 

His caution comes at a time when concerns about the future of white-collar employment in India are growing stronger, and the AI wave may be at the heart of it.
Atomberg founder Arindam Paul recently sounded an alarm about what he sees as an impending AI-led employment crisis in India. In a detailed LinkedIn post, Paul wrote, “Almost 40-50 percent white collar jobs that exist today might cease to exist,” warning that such a drastic shift would spell the end of India’s middle class and its consumption-driven economy.

His remarks echo recent warnings from Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu, who has been vocal about the vulnerability of India’s software jobs in a rapidly automating world.

“I don’t think most people, including our leaders, still understand how big a threat AI could be to our economy,” Paul added, pointing specifically to the displacement of white-collar roles.

According to Paul, the root problem goes beyond AI—it’s India’s underdeveloped manufacturing sector. “Our manufacturing is nowhere close to where it should be when it comes to generating jobs that pay 3-6 lakhs per year,” he said, pointing out the lack of an industrial cushion to absorb displaced workers.

Paul didn’t hold back while critiquing India’s cornerstone sectors—IT and BPO—predicting a "big reduction in manpower and in many cases in their business." He clarified that while firms like Infosys may adapt, their scale of employment will shrink. “They won’t be employing nearly as many people as they do,” he stated bluntly.

He also took aim at corporate enthusiasm for AI. “While all corporates are today happy that AI will reduce manpower and increase efficiency and improve bottomline, they forget that without jobs and money in consumer hands, there will be no topline,” he warned.

Despite the bleak outlook, Paul said: “I hope none of this happens and we continue to grow our GDP both at an absolute level as well as at a per capita level, but I also think this is the most probable scenario for India unless we really double down on manufacturing.”