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South and Southeast Asia: India, Philippines, Vietnam in Spring 2026 · Can't Find Job? AI Is Quietly Replacing Millions of Workers

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: South and Southeast Asia Tech Job Trends, Spring 2026.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: The global tech industry saw heavy layoffs in early 2026, with AI cited as a key factor.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: For example, Tom's Hardware, citing Nikkei Asia, reported that 78,557 tech jobs were cut from January to April 2026, and 47.9% of those cuts were officially attributed to automation and artificial intelligence, AI.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: However, industry analysts note that many of these AI-driven cuts actually reflect offshoring work to lower cost regions rather than machines doing the work.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: In one case, retailers' so-called cashierless technology still relied on remote workers in India, not just computer programs.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: In India, the Philippines, and Vietnam, IT, BPO, and manufacturing support sectors have generally been growing.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: India's tech services and products industry was projected to reach about$283 billion in revenue in fiscal 2025, a 5.1% increase.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: India added roughly 126,000 new tech workers in FY 2025, bringing its total tech workforce to about 5.8 million, up 2.2% year-on-year.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: In the Philippines, the IT Business Process Management industry was on track for roughly$40 billion in export revenue by 2025, with direct employment around 1.9 million.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: IBPAP, the Philippine IT BPM trade group, noted 2024 finishes with approximately 1.82 million workers, growing by about 4%.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: In Vietnam, foreign investment in manufacturing surged.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: For example, in late 2025, Vietnam announced 234 major industrial projects worth$129 billion.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: Vietnam is moving from low-cost assembly to higher tech production, electronics, and clean energy.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: Currently, only about 10% of its factories use robots, so human labor is still critical.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Across these markets, growth coexists with the rise of AI.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: India saw stable hiring after a 2024 slowdown, while Philippine BPO grew 4 to 5% in recent years.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: Vietnam's economy boomed with China's factories shifting out, but rising labor costs up 10-15% in 2025 have spurred more automation.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: Overall, official data, India's NASCOM reports, Philippine IBPAP, Vietnam's GSO suggest continued job growth in 2025 to 2026, even as AI and globalization change job types and locations.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Onshore versus offshore versus automation.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: A key issue is distinguishing offshoring, moving work to other countries from pure machine automation.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: In practice, many jobs replaced by AI are instead being done offshore.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Forester analysts warned that companies often blame AI for cuts while actually shifting tasks to lower-paid workers in countries like India or the Philippines.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: For example, Amazon's automated checkout systems that let shoppers leave without a cashier still required human supervisors in India rather than purely software agents.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: Similarly, big outsourcing firms like TTEC operate call centers worldwide, 22 countries for U.S.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: clients, suggesting that even AI-powered customer service often relies on humans offshore.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: That said, true automation is growing too.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: In the US and China, many routine tasks are being done by software.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: U.S.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: tech firms reported that roughly 20 to 30% of new code is now written by AI tools.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: A study of global GitHub developers found that about 20% of coding contributions by Indian engineers used AI tools by late 2024.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: In customer service, surveys show AI projects are moving past pilots.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: For example, over 30% of AI customer support projects are active beyond testing.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: However, even these AI systems often need human oversight.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: In short, much of the US and European job loss headlines reflect the mix of offshore hiring and tool adoption.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: An AP story cautioned that in many companies, AI became the scapegoat rather than the real cause of layoffs.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: For South Southeast Asia, the picture is complex.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: New work is coming in, especially from the US and Europe, but AI-led efficiency gains may reduce the number of humans needed for each unit of work.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: India.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: IT services and BPO trends.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: India's IT services and software industry remains one of the world's largest.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: NASCOM reports that after a modest slowdown, the sector grew again in FY 2025, reaching about$283 billion in revenues.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: This growth was led by exports, expected to hit about$224 billion, up 4.6%, and a strong domestic market, around$58 billion, up 7.0%.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: Key client sectors were BFSI, Banking Finance, and the United States, which together drove most demand.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: Asia-Pacific clients, Japan, Australia, and sectors like telecom and healthcare were also emerging growth areas.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: On the employment side, India's tech firms hired about 126,000 people in FY 2025, bringing total tech-related employment to 5.80 million.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: This was only about 2.2% growth, reflecting how companies are focusing more on productivity and retraining.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Reportedly, many top IT companies delayed large-scale layoffs by shifting unassigned staff, higher bench size, and using attrition controls.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: Utilization rates, portion of employees on billable projects, are closely watched.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: Firms target 75 to 80% utilization to stay profitable.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: Anecdotally, utilization dipped slightly in late 2025 as new sales slowed, but firms managed it with project reshuffling.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: On wages, India has had steady but slow salary growth in tech.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: Entry-level programmers might earn 3 to 5 lakh per year, about 3,000 to 6,000 euros, depending on skill and city, while mid-level salaries vary widely.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: NASCOM noted that wage growth has flattened around 5-7% annually.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: Offshoring competitiveness and new supply, including returning expats and graduates, have kept wages from rising sharply.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: Indian BPO and customer support in BPO, business process outsourcing, India's share is strong in technical support and back office for global brands.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: English language call centers employ over 1 million Indians.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: Average wages are relatively low.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: One report noted a 25-year-old agent in Manila, working nights for U.S.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: clients, earned only 290 euros per month, though Indian English proficiency and 24-7 support remain valuable.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: Some onshoring of simple tasks has begun, especially simple voice support returning to U.S.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: due to policy pressure, but most complex or premium BPO work still goes to India.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: Philippines, IT BPS, and BPO.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: The Philippines remains a global leader in voice-based BPO.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: Industry data via IBPAP show the IT BPM sector grew about 4-5% per year recently.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: It contributed roughly 8% of GDP and had around€34 billion in revenues in 2024.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: In straight numbers, there were about 1.8 to 2.0 million people employed in IT and BPO roles by 2025.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: The country serves mainly the U.S.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: market, about 70% of its contracts, giving it an accent advantage and cultural affinity.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: However, Philippine BPO is facing headwinds.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: U.S.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: lawmakers have proposed incentives to keep customer service jobs stateside, which could reduce offshoring.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: In mid-2025, a U.S.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: bill, Keep Call Centers in USA, introduced tax breaks for onshore support.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: If passed, this might slow job growth in Manila in the future.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: For now though, the Philippines is still adding jobs.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: IBPAP reported about 80,000 new jobs in 2025.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: On wages, the Philippines saw only modest increases.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: Real wages have lagged inflation in recent years, so disposable income of call center agents remains low, on the order of a few hundred euros per month, as noted above.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: This keeps the Philippines competitive cost-wise, but also limits domestic pressure to raise pay.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: Utilization in Philippines BPO centers is naturally high, these centers operate 24-7.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: Bench time, when agents are unassigned to calls, is usually kept minimal by shifting agents across time zones.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: The sector historically enjoyed 75% plus utilization given round-the-clock demand.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: As of spring 2026, centers report a slight uptick in bench sizes as new hires await positions, but seasonal business, tax and holiday support has absorbed most staff.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: The client mix in PHPPO remains heavily skewed to the US.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: Nearly all major American banks, telecoms, and tech firms outsource customer care to Manila.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: A small but growing share of work comes from Europe and Asia.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: Some pH companies are also exploring IT outsourcing, like software dev beyond Pure Voice, but this is still much smaller than in India.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: Vietnam, manufacturing support and ICT.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: Vietnam's economy is heavily driven by manufacturing, not services.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: Global brands Samsung Intel Nike LG make high-tech goods there.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: In early 2026, provinces like Bak Nin saw booming factory growth as companies moved out of China.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: Vietnam's strategy is upgrading from basic assembly to high-tech products, electronics, clean energy devices.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: In December 2025, Vietnam launched 234 projects worth$129 billion to accelerate this shift.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: In manufacturing support, jobs grew along with plans.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: For example, local suppliers and contract manufacturers have added roles in quality control, logistics, and engineering.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: But medium-term trends favor automation.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: Only about one-third of Vietnamese workshops use fully manual tools, and around 10% use industrial robots.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: This suggests that as manufacturing scales up further, some factory jobs could be automated.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: Vietnam's labor market in 2024-25 was very tight, unemployment was near 1-2% officially, and wage inflation ran 10-15% per year due to worker shortages.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: As a result, Vietnamese manufacturers are urgently seeking productivity improvements, e.g., more machines and AI in factories.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: The General Statistics Office has noted rising focus on science and tech education to feed the new economy.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: On the services side, Vietnam's IT and BPO sector is still small, but growing.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: Global outsourcing companies have set up offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: Domestic IT exports, game dev software, are a few billion dollars but growing fast.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: There is also a push to boost e-payments and digital services at home.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: Client-wise, Vietnamese IT firms serve regional markets, Japan, Korea, and increasingly Western ones.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: Export diversification is a focus.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: Vietnam is expanding into Middle East, Latin America, and African markets to reduce reliance on any single region.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: Its trade surplus is heavily with the U.S.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: Wages, utilization, and bench sizes.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: In summary, wage trends differ across Asia.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: In the Philippines and India, wages for call center and entry-level tech roles remain low by Western standards, reflecting abundant supply of young workers.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: For example, as noted, a Manila agent earned only around€290 per month.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: Indian fresh IT graduates might start at a few thousand euros annual salary.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: Middle-level tech talent, network admins devs, can earn more, but five-figure salaries are rare outside top companies.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: These low wages in Asia are one reason offshoring continues.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: Companies often cite cost savings of around 70%.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: By moving work to Asia, however, as AI and competition intensify, even Asian wages are under pressure.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: Where AI boosts productivity, it can slow wage growth.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: Conversely, labor shortages like in Vietnam push wages up.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: Vietnam's 10-15% rise shows how a narrow labor pool can raise costs and accelerate automation.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: Utilization the share of staff on billable work is a key metric.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: Across these countries, firms strive for high utilization.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: In IT services, industry norms are 70 to 80%.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: During slow periods, utilization dips in bench sizes, unassigned staff grow.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: In late 2025, many Indian IT firms reported bench sizes at or near record levels as they waited for new projects.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: By spring 2026, utilization has started rising again with a handful of new deals, but US and Europe clients remain cautious on large hires.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: BPO centers typically have constant demand, so their utilization stays high, agents are shared across shifts.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: Case study AI and delivery centers.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: AI tools are already in use at many outsourcing and IT delivery centers.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: In customer service, chatbots and AI agents supplement humans.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: According to a Bain survey, nearly a third, 32% of AI projects and customer support have moved beyond pilot stage.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: For instance, Waggle, a UK insurance firm, uses AI chatbots to offer 24-7 help and to assist human agents in finding answers faster.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: Over half of consumers' simple inquiries can now be answered by automated systems, freeing up live agents for harder cases.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: Similarly, HGS, a global BPO provider, reported that AI allows them to audit 100% of calls for quality instead of the usual 1-3% checked manually.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: However, consumer acceptance is mixed.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: A UGov commission study warned that many customers still distrust AI bots.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: So most delivery centers use hybrid models.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: AI handles routine chat and flags issues, but human agents intervene as needed.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: For example, agents might get real-time customer profile suggestions on screen, as happened at TTEC's multinational call centers, leading one agent to say, AI has taken the robot out of us because it removed tedious tasks.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: In software development, AI code generation is spreading.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: Major tech firms have adopted tools like GitHub Copilot.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, Microsoft noted that 20-30% of its code base is now AI generated.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: A global study of open source projects found that by end 2024, about 20% of coding contributions in India involved AI assistance, nearly catching up with the US 29%.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: Even non-tech firms are using AI code tools.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: FreshWorks CEO said over half of his company's code is now written with AI help.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: This greatly speeds up routine programming tasks, but developers still need to verify and integrate the AI output.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: At delivery center scale, code generation tools can boost productivity, but also trim entry-level tasks.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: Many Indian outsourcing firms report using Copilot and similar tools in their development teams.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: For example, one large IT services company found its junior coders became 30% faster on certain tasks with AI assistance, internal report.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: This means that some simple coding work is being done with fewer people, even as the overall project work grows.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: In summary, case studies show AI is augmenting rather than fully replacing human work for now.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: Chatbots are handling the easy questions in customer support, and code generators are helping developers write boilerplate code.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: But delivery centers still rely on skilled staff to handle complex issues, manage AI outputs, and maintain customer relationships.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: Conclusion and advice AI and automation are reshaping IT, BPO, and manufacturing support jobs in India, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: Some roles are being offshore to Asia or automated, but new roles are also emerging.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: Key takeaways focus on advanced skills.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: Workers should strengthen skills that AI can't easily replace.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: Complex problem solving, customer empathy, cross-cultural communication, and creativity.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: Governments and companies should invest in reskilling in AI literacy programs in all three countries.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: Balance onshore-offshore needs.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: Companies should shift only truly automatable tasks to software.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: Tasks requiring human judgment or local language skills may still be best served by international teams.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: Clear analysis is needed to decide when to use AI tools versus hiring or moving staff overseas.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: Optimize utilization.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: Manage bench.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: IT firms must keep utilization high by training bench staff for the next wave of projects or new technologies.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: For example, delivery centers can cross-train customer support agents in AI oversight or upsell to small technical roles when voice work slows.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: Monitor wage trends.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: Companies should be aware that wage pressures are changing.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: In Vietnam, rising wages 10 to 15% YIY are making some manual tasks costly.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: In the Philippines, legislated shifts like U.S.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: incentive to reshore call centers could affect staffed levels.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: Compensation strategies must adapt, possibly by offering higher pay for higher skill roles while automating simpler tasks.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: Embrace human AI partnership.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: Rather than viewing AI only as a threat, firms should find ways AI and humans can work together.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: Case studies show AI can handle routine work and quality checks.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: A socio-technical approach, combining tech with human insight, will yield the best productivity and employee morale.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: By focusing on where human skills add value and using AI judiciously, businesses and workers in India, the Philippines, and Vietnam can navigate the spring 2026 transition.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: Capitals and delivery centers alike should prepare for mixed staffing models, blending local and offshore teams with intelligent automation to stay competitive and sustain growth.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: All links to sources are available in the text version of this article.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: You can find the full article at can'tfindjob.com slash blog.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: If today's episode hit close to home, stop scrolling job boards that weren't built for this new reality.
• 18:15
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