Amid layoffs due to AI, HDFC Bank CEO makes BIG prediction, says, ‘AI is not going to…’

In the last six months, HDFC Bank has added about 5,000 employees to take its overall base to over 2.20 lakh at the end of September.

HDFC Bank, the country’s largest private sector lender, has ruled out any job cuts resulting from its adoption of artificial intelligence, a top executive said.

The bank, which employed around 2.2 lakh people as of September, is conducting several “lighthouse experiments” in advanced technologies, including generative AI, that are expected to yield significant benefits over the next 18 to 24 months, HDFC Bank CEO and MD Sashidhar Jagdishan said on Saturday.

HDFC Bank CEO On AI Impact On Jobs

“Frankly, AI is not going (to result in) any layoff whatsoever in our bank, at least. Because I see this as a massive opportunity to move people from the backend to the front end or to the technology end,” Jagdishan told reporters in the post-earnings call, replying to a specific question on the impact of AI on jobs.

“It’s only going to change the mix of where our people are going to be positioned. But, it is not going to reduce people apart from normal attrition that we have,” he added in the remarks that come amid heightened concerns over the impact of AI on jobs across sectors.

Even in banking, a major Southeast Asian powerhouse’s chief executive had recently remarked that he has not added people to the workforce for the first time in 15 years despite business growth, and pointed towards a 10 per cent shrinkage in staff because of AI over the next 3 years.

Jagdishan said India is a market throbbing with opportunities for financial services and a long runway for growth, which demands a lot of people to be manning the front-ends to engage with customers and also keep innovating by adopting the best that technological developments have to offer.

How Will HDFC Bank Implement AI?

Jagdishan said HDFC Bank’s investments are to help the profits in the future, and the efforts revolve around re-engineering processes, reducing turnaround times and enhancing customer experience.

At present, the bank is “silently” undertaking efforts on the tech front and will disclose its work at the right time.

He made it clear that the bank has put appropriate guardrails in place and is not passing any decision-making work to the AI tools. The “game plan” is to reduce the number of people in the back end and use the same people on the front end, he added.

“I hope it works. These are all lighthouse experiments; we are putting our might and hard work into that particular thing. Some will work, some will not. We are reasonably optimistic that these low-hanging fruits should work,” the CEO said. 

(With Inputs From PTI)