Amid Layoffs, Paytm CEO Shares 2024 To-Do List Featuring Big AI Upgrades

Fintech giant Paytm's parent company, One97 Communication, has laid off 100s of employees across verticals due to the firm's implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to bring automation in its process and ensure cost-cutting. Amid the layoffs, Paytm's Founder and CEO, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, shared his to-do list for 2024 and what he would like to change in the firm.

In Mr Sharma's to-do list, "Paytm app's home screen and Paytm Payments Bank and other entities will be separated, to make it look cleaner". Apart from the change in the app's user experience, the expansion of AI in the firm's operations is a part of the CEO's goal for 2024. The induction of Artificial Intelligence and its expansion has been a priority for Mr Sharma and the firm is pushing 10,000-strong technology, product and engineering teams to use Microsoft, and Google's AI tools.

Paytm's induction of AI in its operations meant a reduction in costs, improved efficiency of operation, and removal of repetitive tasks and roles in the fintech firms as it seeks to improve its core business of payment by increasing its manpower.

One of the biggest reasons behind the use of AI in Paytm's operations is to narrow down the timeline of product development from weeks to days.

Paytm also said the induction of AI will help them save at least 10 per cent in employee costs and will help them "deliver more than expected".

"We are transforming our operations with AI-powered automation to drive efficiency, eliminating repetitive tasks and roles to drive efficiency across growth and costs, resulting in a slight reduction in our workforce in operations and marketing over some time. We will be able to save 10-15 per cent in employee costs as AI has delivered more than we expected it to. Additionally, we constantly evaluate cases of non-performance throughout the year," Paytm said.

"Our core business of payment may see manpower increase by 15,000 more in the coming year. With a dominant position in the payments platform and a proven profitable business model, we will continue to innovate for India. In this, Insurance and Wealth will be a logical expansion of our platform, in continuation of our focus on the existing businesses. Having shown the strength of our distribution-based business model in loan distribution, we are expanding the same to focus on new businesses to drive scale," the firm said.

In 2021, Paytm fired 500-700 employees based on their non-performance and in December this year, the fintech firm said it aims to slow down its small-ticket loans and focus on expansion of high-ticket personal and merchant loans. The decision has not gone well with brokerages, prompting them to cut their revenue estimates for Paytm.