When technology shifts, value migrates. And when value migrates, the world experiences massive dislocations. A few years ago, one of the simplest startup plays was to train young people in Africa, India, and other emerging regions in coding and then supply them to U.S. firms. It was a slam dunk business model: pay a developer in Bangalore $2,000 per month while the equivalent talent in Silicon Valley commanded $15,000. The American company benefited, the outsourcing company profited, and the young coder earned far more than local opportunities.
But today, artificial intelligence is rewriting that script. Many of the routine tasks that once justified offshore junior developers can now be done by AI itself. Those “support” layers under expensive engineers are disappearing. The consequence? Many of the companies that built pipelines of remote coding talent are vanishing, because the entry-level coding jobs they supplied have been hollowed out by AI.
And it is not stopping with coders. We are now reading that even the big consulting firms are reducing their intake of fresh graduates because AI is taking over some of their entry-level tasks. PwC, for example, has announced a cut of 200 graduate positions in the U.K.—a signal that Gen Z is entering a far tougher career landscape than their predecessors.
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PwC is trimming its graduate intake, cutting 200 entry-level positions in the U.K. as artificial intelligence and weak productivity growth reshape the workplace.
The decision reflects growing strain on Gen Z graduates, who now face far tougher conditions launching their careers than their predecessors did.
The firm’s U.K. chief, Marco Amitrano, admitted that graduate hiring is “under pressure,” with technology advances and volatile global markets weighing heavily on entry-level opportunities. PwC’s cut reduces this year’s intake to 1,300 from 1,500. For Amitrano, the shift feels personal: he began his own career more than three decades ago in an entry-level PwC role. But today’s landscape, he noted, is far less forgiving for young job seekers.
This is the new world. Technology does not only create; it also displaces and reorganizes markets. As AI rises, old advantages—geographic arbitrage, entry-level training pipelines—are being challenged. Firms and nations must rethink their models. Workers must re-skill beyond what AI can do. And leaders must craft strategies to capture value in a world where machines are no longer support tools but direct competitors.
“Uwa bu ahia”—the world is a marketplace. And in this marketplace, the price of being unprepared is rising.
PwC Cuts 200 Entry-Level Roles as AI Redefines Pathways Into Work
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