AI Will Transform Work But Won't Result In Job Losses: Axis Bank

Shetty also mentioned that the bank intends to expand its team by 10 per cent annually and currently employs about 70 individuals dedicated exclusively to AI initiatives

Axis Bank believes that while artificial intelligence (AI) will transform the nature of work, it will not result in net job losses for the Indian lender. In fact, the bank has significantly increased its digital workforce, expanding it more than tenfold in recent years. "There’s no need to shrink our workforce,” stated Axis Bank's head of digital business and transformation, Sameer Shetty, according to a Bloomberg report.

The technology team at India’s third-largest private bank by market value has grown to 800 employees in areas such as engineering, product design, and marketing, up from around 60 employees nearly five years ago. Shetty also mentioned that the bank intends to expand its team by 10 per cent annually and currently employs about 70 individuals dedicated exclusively to AI initiatives.

According to Shetty, many operational roles are expected to be automated, leading to a shift in the bank's employee composition over the next five years. There will be a greater emphasis on technology and customer-facing positions. He noted that the workforce will continue growing as the bank expands and new business lines are introduced.

“We will have more front-facing folks who will spend time helping customers, solving their problems, talking to them, understanding their needs, and lesser people in the back office for processing jobs,” he said.

Indian banks have been significantly increasing their technology investments and enhancing the digitisation of their processes, products, and services. However, technical glitches have come at a high cost. For instance, regulators imposed restrictions on Kotak Mahindra Bank, preventing it from onboarding new customers to its digital platforms and credit cards this year due to governance and risk-related concerns, states the report.

“While banks have undertaken significant investments across digital banking, data management practices and privacy, along with modernising core tech platforms, still need attention,” McKinsey & Co. said in a report.  

Shetty shared in an interview that Axis Bank dedicated nearly two years to developing "hyper-personalisation" features for its app, which provides timely nudges to customers when their salaries are deposited or when bills are due.

“These nudges are very, very specific to the customer and an intense activity because you need to pull customer data in one place,” Shetty explained, noting that hyper-personalisation has emerged as a significant driver of growth in new customer acquisition for the bank.