Capgemini and Inetum propose over 1,100 layoffs in Spain

Capgemini and Inetum propose over 1,100 layoffs in Spain

The Spanish technology sector faces labor adjustments against the backdrop of artificial intelligence. Capgemini has announced its intention to lay off 748 employees in Spain, while Inetum revealed plans for another 425 job cuts. In total, 1,173 positions are at risk across two of the country's leading consultancies, according to data from those affected. The news has made prime-time headlines, causing an industry accustomed to selling infinite growth to look nervously over its shoulder.

The reaction was swift. Some argue these layoffs are merely a purge of bloated headcounts from the pandemic era, now disguised as a technological revolution. Others point directly to AI as the long-announced executioner. A third group, more cynical, recalls that consulting has always had the concept of the bench: staff without assigned projects waiting to be called. The difference is that now they can claim it is due to AI and appear justified.

Is AI the real cause of consultancy layoffs?

The short answer is that no one knows for sure. The long answer is that AI is the perfect excuse to do what was going to happen anyway. There is consensus within the sector that staff numbers at major consultancies grew uncontrollably during the pandemic years, when any project was approved without cost scrutiny. Now comes the time to cut, and AI offers a marketable narrative: we are not firing due to crisis, but because we are more productive.

Some analysts calculate that real productivity has not increased enough to justify 1,173 layoffs. AI helps with routine tasks, generates repetitive code, and documents work, but struggles with complexity. Those who have truly programmed know this: AI is a good pneumatic hammer for simple tasks but a disaster for work requiring business understanding. The problem is that executives have never written a line of code and believe the consultancies' stories.

Impact on juniors and DAM/DAW students

The message for those studying or recently graduated is uncomfortable. Demand for junior profiles will not disappear but will narrow. Companies still hire novices, but not to solve problems, rather to train them. With or without AI, a junior cannot make decisions on day one. The difference is that there is now less room in the queue.

What does change is the job profile. The "code monkey" who only typed code has days numbered. Those who become AI agent supervisors, reviewing model outputs, correcting errors, and managing production deployments, have a future. Experience once again holds monetary value. Veterans who did their homework have an advantage. Those who started this decade have less.

The shadow of offshoring and imported talent

There is a factor not making headlines but on everyone's lips: offshoring. Consultancies have been moving work to India, Latin America, and low-cost centers for years. AI accelerates this trend by automating part of the work previously done locally. The result is that remaining jobs in Spain are increasingly specialized and fewer in number.

This is compounded by the influx of foreign talent attracted by salaries that, although low by European standards, are competitive for their home countries. The effect on local wages is the usual one: downward pressure. It is not a conspiracy, it is basic economics. The greater the supply of workers willing to accept less, the harder it is to demand more.

What options remain for programmers in Spain?

Three options are discussed in the sector: specialize, enter civil service exams, or switch industries. The first is the most obvious: the harder you are to replace, the safer you are. The second, civil service exams, has a problem: if thousands of laid-off programmers make the same choice, competition skyrockets. The third, switching industries, is the most drastic and often dismissed by those unwilling to start from scratch.

Staying until fired to collect severance also has supporters. With 20 days per year worked and a maximum of 12 monthly payments, objective dismissal can provide a considerable cushion for those with over a decade in the company. For those with less tenure, the cushion is more like a thin blanket.

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The Spanish tech sector faces its first major trial by fire with AI as the backdrop. Layoffs at Capgemini and Inetum may just be the beginning, many antiestéticar. The question is not whether AI will change work, but who will be left out when the change is complete. If history teaches anything about technology, it is that adjustments are always paid for by the same people.