AI shift forces skills rethink at India tech hubs, Kimberly-Clark executive says

Savyata Mishra and Praveen Paramasivam

Wed, May 20, 2026 at 9:02 AM EDT 2 min read

By Savyata Mishra and Praveen Paramasivam

BENGALURU, May 20 (Reuters) - AI is reshaping hiring and job roles at India's booming offshore centres, with companies ‌placing less emphasis on coding and more on domain and product skills, ‌a senior Kimberly-Clark executive said.

The U.S.-based consumer goods maker is increasingly seeking workers who can apply ​technology to business problems rather than write code, as automation tools begin to handle routine programming tasks, Deena Dayalan, the global head of digital operations and cloud transformation, told the Reuters summit in Bengaluru.

Coding alone will not be enough, Dayalan said, adding ‌that employees now need domain ⁠expertise in areas such as supply chains or retail alongside basic AI literacy.

"Most of the coding jobs are given to third-party (providers). ⁠We need product engineers who can work with them and try to apply technology to get a better solution," said Dayalan, who is also Kimberly-Clark's India site leader.

The shift ​comes ​as global capability centres (GCCs) in India move ​up the value chain from back-office ‌support to engineering, data and product roles, creating demand for more specialised talent even as some entry-level positions face pressure.

Dayalan said companies are focusing on hiring experienced workers, typically with more than four years' experience, while entry-level roles could shrink as AI tools automate basic tasks.

At the same time, firms are retraining existing employees, ‌with Kimberly-Clark rolling out company-wide AI training ​initiatives to build skills across its workforce.

The changes ​are also altering hiring patterns, with ​firms prioritising "must-have" skills and learning capacity over rigid job descriptions, ‌he said.

India produces about 1.5 million engineering ​graduates each year, ​but Dayalan said closer industry collaboration with universities will be key to ensure graduates are equipped with both domain and technical skills for emerging roles.

"Little ​bit of domain knowledge ‌is a must. Raw engineer is not going to help, especially for ​GCCs," he said.

(Reporting by Savyata Mishra and Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; ​Editing by Dhanya Skariachan and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)