Fewer roles, higher pay
The hiring push by these AI platform providers highlights a growing paradox in the AI job market. AI is automating routine, process-driven tasks across sectors, including IT, customer operations, finance, and professional services, leading to job cuts. Simultaneously, it is creating demand for a new class of high-value, specialized roles tied to enterprise deployment. The changing demand dynamics are already driving higher pay for specialized AI skills.
According to PwC’s 2025 Global AI Jobs Barometer, wages are rising for AI-powered workers. The report finds that workers with AI skills earn, on average, 56% higher wages, driven by strong demand, the strategic importance of these roles, and a limited talent pool.
“While up to 300 million global roles face automation exposure, with 83 million displaced and 69 million new specialized ones created by 2027, AI engineering specialists command 20–40% salary premiums over traditional IT, especially in inference optimization, distributed training, evaluation pipelines, and multimodal integration,” added Ram.
