Automation impact: Tech Mahindra to reduce BPO staff by 5,000 in FY21 even as revenues grow robustly

Despite rising revenues, IT major Tech Mahindra is set to reduce its business process services (BPS) headcount by 5,000 to 38,000 in FY 2020-21, as a larger part of the tasks get completed through automation and artificial intelligence.

Company executives said there is a “non-linearity” between revenue growth and overall headcount as technology makes it possible for a single individual to accomplish multiple tasks.

It can be noted that the business process outsourcing (BPO) vertical, which has its genesis in the ‘call centres’ business of the past, is one of the biggest employment generators in the technology space, where Indian executives handle a slew of processes for overseas clients often across time zones.