By Sai Ishwarbharath B and Haripriya Suresh

BENGALURU (Reuters) -Indian outsourcing giant Tata Consultancy Services’ decision to cut over 12,000 jobs signals the start of a broader AI-fueled trend that could end up eliminating around half a million jobs over the next two to three years from the $283 billion sector, experts said.

While TCS pegged the move to shed 2% of its workforce to skill mismatches rather than AI-related productivity gains, experts viewed the largest-ever layoffs by India’s top private employer as the beginning of things to come in the labour-intensive sector. Roughly 12,200 TCS middle and senior management jobs will be lost.

The industry, which has played a crucial role in creating a middle class in India, is increasingly seeing AI being used for everything from bas

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