New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) China’s infamous '996' work culture — 9 am to 9 pm, six days a week shifts — has now shifted to an even harsher reality as artificial intelligence tools rapidly replace programmers, a new report has said. 

The report from Sri Lanka-based Daily Mirror said layoffs in China's tech sector have surged, with China’s five major internet giants cutting over 1.3 lakh employees in the past 18 months.

Joining giants like Tencent, Alibaba, or ByteDance was seen as a ticket to prosperity even though the health toll was severe, with programmers working late nights, suffering stress, and even dying young.

"One programmer collapsed at the age of 32 after years of gruelling hours, sparking outrage online. Programmers live under constant anxiety, fearing they’ll fall behind if they don’t study technical papers even on weekends. Their lives lack social interaction," the report described the harsh reality.

AI coding tools now allow one engineer to direct hundreds of systems, completing month‑long projects in a week. “One AI agent can replace the work of 100 people,” the report said, warning that vast office buildings may stand nearly empty in the near future. 

"A company with 50 programmers now equals the productivity of 5,000, since each programmer directs hundreds of AI systems to write code daily," the report noted.

The report cited a 35‑year‑old laid off by ByteDance saying that even if he is rehired, layoff threats loom again. Alibaba reduced 30–40 per cent of its workforce, while Baidu and JD.com had laid off thousands of employees.

"Once prestigious jobs now seem insecure, with salaries declining even for graduates of elite universities…The average age at some tech giants is now 27.5, leaving older workers with families increasingly excluded,” the media house said.

Programmers who earned “hundreds of thousands annually built life plans around stable incomes, only to be trapped by mortgages and family responsibilities,” with many middle‑class families now risk sliding back into poverty.