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Philippine outsourcing workers face layoffs as AI-generated content expands
The Philippines outsourcing industry employs about 1.9 million people and generates roughly $40.0bn in annual revenue, and experts say AI could hit large parts of the workforce.
AI is reshaping the Philippines' business process outsourcing industry, where many workers say they were effectively trained on company writing styles for AI systems that later reduced hiring and led to redundancies, according to BBC Business.
One anonymous former employee, Lisa, said she did not feel she needed AI to do her job, but was made redundant about a month before her role was due to become permanent after an agency was tasked with producing AI-generated material that staff were asked to edit. Lisa also said her skills were used to train the AI on the company’s writing style.
The BBC reports that the outsourcing workforce is concentrated in Manila districts such as Cubao, where multinational firms employ people in call centers, accounting, software development, and marketing copy services for overseas clients.
The outlet says the industry has been a major economic success story for more than two decades, employing roughly 1.9 million people and generating about $40bn in annual revenues, or around 10% of the Philippines economy, while the International Labour Organization estimates 12.7 million Filipinos are employed in work areas considered vulnerable to automation.
The reporting highlights workers' concerns about confidentiality agreements, severance, and limited prospects within a tightly connected job market as AI use expands.