As debt-laden telecom sector—weakened by deadly price wars—consolidates, job losses will mount. After a month, a number of Reliance Communications ( RCom ) employees could be looking for another job. The company is believed to be closing down major parts of its wireless business.The Tata Group is selling its mobile business to Bharti Airtel, which might lead to thousands losing jobs. According to an estimate, nearly 1 lakh direct and indirect jobs in telecom sector could vanish in near future.While telecom companies will lay off employees at all levels, the most at risk could be those at the middle level. Automation and emerging skills sets not only make many jobs at the middle level redundant, but the laid-off employees might find it difficult to get appropriate new jobs, again, for lack of new skills or jobs having been made scarce by automation and other new technologies.According to a staffing expert, most of the cuts will be in the technical and engineering side, which typically command monthly salaries between Rs 40,000 and a few lakhs.The jobs crisis in the telecom comes at a time when middle-level employees are already facing twin challenges of their jobs being made redundant by technology and companies preferring employees with knowledge of emerging skill sets. Reskilling of employees does not work very well as the employees at the middle-level are perceived as resistant to change.Randstad India CEO Paul Dupuis told ET that those in HR, accounting and finance could expect to see job cuts, their roles becoming redundant thanks to automation. Many of those in consumer sales can also expect to be let go as companies would need fewer feet on the street.According to experts, those laid off in the telecom workers over the next year or so can find alternative employment if they upgrade their skills and become cognisant of new technologies in the space of user experience, Internet of Things and artificial intelligence.However, the new skills are becoming important in the telecom sector too. According to a staffing expert, the telecom sector is looking at moving towards software-defined networks and infrastructure as a service, and most importantly in the user experience space. The new trend will take away jobs in data entry, tele-calling, ground sales, impacting both lower- and mid-level employees.