Paytm is laying off a thousand staff as it struggles with high costs.
Paytm, an Indian multinational financial technology company, is laying off more than 1,000 staff as it starts to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) automation for various functions in the company.
The company also said that it decided to cut its workforce to reduce costs on its business operations.
Major Shift to AI
Paytm said the layoff will also mark the company’s shift to AI-led operations. The company’s parent organization, One 97 Communications, confirmed the axing of workers on Monday, Dec. 25.
The firm said this is only a “slight reduction” in its workforce and had to be carried out to cut costs. The job cuts will affect all department units, as per Reuters. It was added that the exact number of roles to be eliminated is not known, although reports suggest more than 1,000.
“We will be able to save 10-15% in employee costs as Artificial Intelligence (AI) has delivered more than we expected it to,” the spokesperson told Reuters.
In any case, Paytm is making adjustments and updating its operations to achieve its first net profit since its public listing in November 2021. The digital payment platform based in India further said that the work reduction is a significant step for the company’s strategic shift to AI-powered business operations.
Paytm’s High Expectations from Its AI Adoption
BNN Breaking reported that Paytm is embracing artificial intelligence to automate its operations. Through this, the company expects to reshape its workplace landscape while reducing employee costs by 10-15%.
“We are transforming our operations with AI-powered automation to drive efficiency, eliminating repetitive tasks and roles to drive efficiency across growth and costs, resulting in a slight reduction in our workforce in operations and marketing,” News18 quoted a company official as saying. “We will be able to save 10-15% in employee costs as AI has delivered more than we expected it to. Additionally, we constantly evaluate cases of non-performance throughout the year.”