This is how many jobs automation could cost

20.5 million jobs – which corresponds to 48 percent of all jobs – could be automated in Germany alone.

This emerges from a current publication by the consulting firm McKinsey. It's not just simple tasks that are at risk of being replaced by machines or computers.

The range extends from suppliers, who could be replaced by autonomous cars and drones, to production and even white collar jobs. It recently became known that a Japanese insurance company wants to replace several dozen employees with artificial intelligence. Globally, more than a billion jobs could be lost - analysts estimate the automation potential to be around 630 million jobs in China and India alone.

There are significant differences between individual sectors and sometimes surprising results. For example, it is clear that 64 percent of jobs in the manufacturing sector are at risk. On the other hand, it seems less obvious that 66 percent of employees in the “accommodation and catering” sector should be replaceable. Basically, the risk of automation decreases as complexity increases. In the “business services, scientific and technical services” segment – ​​which also includes IT jobs – comparatively few jobs (39 percent) are at risk.

However, not everyone believes it is a given that the number of jobs will actually decline. According to a study by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), around 1.5 million jobs will be lost by 2025, but around 1.5 million will be created at the same time.

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