China's AI hiring push targets university grads and overseas talent

Business Standard

2 days ago

In the tech corridors of Beijing, the war for artificial-intelligence talent has turned into a hiring boom. China's biggest technology firms are staging a fresh push to hire AI talent, a surge that is reshaping university choices and intensifying corporate competition. Job boards now brim with postings from giants building their own ChatGPT rivals, government-backed labs are expanding, and recruiters are offering packages hefty enough to lure PhDs from overseas, according to a report by the South China Morning Post.
Why are China's tech firms hiring AI graduates en masse?
Major Chinese employers have unveiled large campus recruitment drives this year, with roles heavily skewed towards AI and software disciplines. Xiaomi has opened global hiring for students graduating now through the end of next year, advertising 16 job categories with top roles in software research, algorithms, testing, operations and hardware development, South China Morning Post reported.
Alibaba plans to extend more than 7,000 job offers this autumn, with AI roles accounting for more than 60 per cent of openings, while ByteDance aims to recruit over 5,000 graduates in China across algorithm, front-end and client-side development and other categories, with more than 1,500 non-technical positions also on offer.
Analysts say the hiring binge is driven by multiple pressures: the need to build domestic models and chip stacks amid tightening US export controls; the race to develop large language models and application ecosystems; and the political imperative to create jobs for a large cohort of graduates.
Analysts say the hiring binge is driven by multiple pressures:
* Need to build domestic AI models and chip stacks amid tightening US export controls
* Race to develop large language models and build application ecosystems
* Political push to create jobs for a large cohort of new graduates
Several hundred Chinese universities now offer AI-related majors, and the country already produces large numbers of STEM graduates each year, factors that together give firms a deep home market to recruit from, the report mentioned.
How are layoffs reshaping India's tech employment landscape?
Meanwhile, across the Himalayas, the picture is more complicated. In India, demand for AI engineers is surging but a shortage of talent is slowing projects, driving up costs, and forcing companies to fight over a small pool of specialists. The race to lead in AI is on, but the two neighbours are running at very different speeds.
Layoffs in Indian tech firms in 2025 have become a prominent issue, with AI emerging as a major, if not the sole, driver of job reductions across the sector. In July 2025, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the country's largest private employer with over 600,000 employees, announced it would cut more than 12,000 positions, around 2 per cent of its workforce, in its largest downsizing to date. While the company cited 'skill mismatches' and 'limited deployment opportunities', analysts believe these reflect deeper structural changes as TCS invests heavily in AI to automate routine work and satisfy rising global demand for innovation and efficiency.
Is India equipped with the right skills or is there a mismatch?
There is a pronounced skills gap: the sector will require about one million AI specialists by 2026, yet less than 20 per cent of the current workforce has relevant expertise. While upskilling and redeployment efforts are underway, analysts warn these are not keeping pace with layoffs, creating a widening gap between demand for advanced skills and existing capacity.
How does the situation in India compare with China's AI hiring boom?
In contrast to India's layoffs, China is surging ahead. Chinese technology firms and state-affiliated labs are hiring across AI research, systems engineering, and applied deployment. The Chinese government's strategic focus on AI, combined with substantial R&D funding and coordinated university partnerships, has enabled rapid scaling of AI teams. This gives China an edge in building high-end capacity, while India's tech sector grapples with shedding outdated roles even as it attempts to build new capabilities.