Nearly half of German companies using artificial intelligence expect the technology to drive down wages for less experienced employees over the next five years, a survey by the Ifo Institute found. The poll of more than 3,000 businesses already deploying AI showed the sharpest wage pressure on workers without a university degree and under five years' experience, with 48.3 percent of firms anticipating cuts and just 5.9 percent expecting raises.
Graduates with similar inexperience fared only marginally better, as 50.8 percent of respondents predicted lower pay. By contrast, more than a quarter of companies forecast higher wages for degree-holders with at least five years on the job. The services sector led the pessimism, with 53.3 percent of firms expecting reduced pay for junior, non-graduate staff, followed by retail and manufacturing.
The International Labour Organization has separately warned that AI is narrowing entry-level opportunities, particularly in clerical, sales, and production roles. Construction remained the most resilient sector, with only 39 percent of firms foreseeing wage declines for newer workers.