Tata Consultancy Services, India’s largest private employer, is cutting about 12,200 middle- and senior-level jobs—roughly 2% of its 613,000-strong workforce—in its biggest round of layoffs to date. The company said the reductions stem from skill mismatches as it directs investment toward artificial-intelligence tools and new markets. Analysts regard the move as the opening salvo of a broader wave of automation-driven restructuring across India’s $283 billion outsourcing industry. Market-intelligence firm UnearthInsight forecasts that 400,000 to 500,000 roles—mainly in testing, infrastructure support and people management—could disappear over the next two to three years as clients demand productivity gains from AI. The outsourcing sector, employing 5.67 million people and accounting for more than 7% of India’s GDP, has long absorbed large numbers of engineers and propelled consumer spending. Industry experts warn that the coming job losses could dampen demand for everything from travel to real estate unless workers rapidly reskill for AI-centric roles.