Latest news with #BeyondthePaycheck:
News18
19-06-2025
- Business
- News18
'Even My Job Could Be…': Finance Guru Saurabh Mukherjea On AI Taking Over
Last Updated: Saurabh Mukherjea warns that AI and leaner operations are reshaping India's white-collar job market, threatening middle-class jobs and fresh graduates. India is entering a new phase of capitalism that is fast reshaping its white-collar job landscape, and not for the better, warns Saurabh Mukherjea, founder of Marcellus Investment Managers. The country's middle class, especially fresh graduates, now faces a growing threat of job losses driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and a corporate shift toward leaner operations. 'We are actually quite American," Mukherjea said on the Bharatvaarta podcast. 'Our companies are commercially oriented. Hiring and firing norms are changing, and AI is now hitting the workforce hard." He drew parallels with the wave of job losses in Western countries during the 1990s, when automation began replacing human workers at scale, especially in manufacturing and routine office roles. The stakes, Saurabh Mukherjea argued, are far higher for India, where the workforce is younger, larger, and more dependent on entry-level white-collar jobs that are now directly threatened by AI. He drew parallels with the job displacement seen in the West during the automation wave of the 1990s. 'The median age here is 28. Roughly 10 million graduates enter the market every year, and AI hits junior, entry-level jobs hardest," he explained. He pointed out that this transformation is no longer confined to the IT sector. 'Financial services, media, management consultancy, even my job could get automated," he said. Among the most striking examples he cited was HCL Technologies, which is 'openly aiming to do more with fewer people." India's white-collar work landscape, dominated by repetitive, process-driven roles, is especially exposed to automation. 'We don't have as many creative jobs. Our economy was built on labour arbitrage, and that's the work AI is best at disrupting," Mukherjea siad. Mukherjea cited examples from his own portfolio companies, where CEOs are actively pushing automation plans that could eliminate up to a third of their workforce in the next five years. 'They tell me, 'You as a shareholder will benefit,'" he said. 'I'm not sure I want it, but it's clear they do." Mukherjea expanded on this concern in another podcast episode released in April titled 'Beyond the Paycheck: India's Entrepreneurial Rebirth." There, he said that the stable, long-term jobs that once defined India's middle class are disappearing. Even middle management roles, long seen as safe and rewarding, are at risk. Roles across IT, media, finance, and middle management are being replaced by AI, signalling the end of the long-term, secure job model familiar to previous generations. Mukherjea believed India's digital infrastructure, built around the JAM Trinity (Jandhan, Aadhaar, and Mobile), can empower individuals to create their own opportunities. As traditional jobs decline, he suggests entrepreneurship could become the new engine of growth and prosperity. First Published:
News18
21-04-2025
- Business
- News18
The Death Of The Salaryman: Financial Guru Saurabh Mukherjea Warns Of A Middle-Class Shift In India
Saurabh Mukherjea, founder of Marcellus Investment Managers, says AI and automation are causing stable, white-collar jobs in India to vanish. The secure, white-collar job that once defined India's middle class is disappearing, and we've only begun to acknowledge this shift. Saurabh Mukherjea, the founder and chief investment officer of Marcellus Investment Managers, asserts that India is transitioning into a new economic phase. In his podcast appearance titled 'Beyond the Paycheck: India's Entrepreneurial Rebirth", he contends that the notion of salaried employment as a stable and rewarding career path is gradually eroding. 'The hallmark of this decade will be the decline of salaried employment as a viable path for educated, dedicated, hardworking individuals," Mukherjea stated. This isn't mere speculation but a caution grounded in reality. AI is revolutionizing the office Mukherjea highlighted the extensive technological changes transforming the job market. Across various sectors—IT, media, finance—the tasks once performed by numerous workers are now being automated. 'Many functions previously handled by white-collar workers are now managed by AI. Google reports that a third of its coding is already AI-generated. This trend is extending to Indian IT, media, and finance," he explained. Even middle management, which once provided job security, authority, and growth, is dwindling. 'The traditional model where our parents spent 30 years with one company is becoming obsolete. The employment structure that built India's middle class is no longer feasible." For millions of educated Indians who believed in climbing the corporate ladder, the impact is significant. The foundation beneath them is shifting rapidly. Entrepreneurship: A new beacon of hope However, Mukherjea remains optimistic. He sees a unique opportunity emerging from the decline of traditional employment. The development of digital infrastructure—referred to by the government as the JAM Trinity (Jandhan, Aadhaar, and Mobile)—has provided the necessary tools for a new wave of entrepreneurs. 'If we apply the same intelligence and determination to entrepreneurship that we did to corporate careers, it can become the new driver of prosperity," he noted. The JAM framework has equipped millions of low-income Indians with access to banking, identification, and information—key components for conducting business in the digital age. While previous generations sought jobs in multinational companies, today's youth could forge their own paths. That is, if society allows them. Challenging the notion of stability Mukherjea believes India's fixation on salaries and social status is a hindrance. 'We're a society obsessed with money. We equate success with paychecks. This mindset needs to change," he insisted. 'We should aim for happiness and impact—not merely monthly income." The message is clear: holding on to outdated definitions of success will only lead to frustration, especially in a world where such jobs may no longer exist. What's required is a cultural shift—starting at home. 'Families like ours must stop grooming children to be job-seekers. The jobs won't be there," Mukherjea warned. It's a harsh reality, but perhaps a freeing one as well. From paychecks to purpose Mukherjea's vision isn't an idealistic dream or a technocratic plan. It's a call for creativity—and bravery. The kind of creativity needed to unlearn traditional views of success, and the bravery to build rather than follow. As AI reshapes the economy, the middle-class dream must be reimagined. Mukherjea suggests this rewrite won't be driven by HR departments or job consultancies, but by risk-takers, innovators, and new entrepreneurs. According to him, the era of the salaryman is ending. What follows is up to us. First Published:
