By Reuters | Updated: June 12, 2026
FRANKFURT, June 12 (Reuters) – Close to 20% of German companies that use artificial intelligence are finding it easy to replace employees with university degrees with AI-enabled staff without a degree, a survey by German economic research institute Ifo showed.
- The survey also showed that about 15% of the companies surveyed deemed it easy to replace experienced employees with AI-enabled staff with less experience
- “AI is transforming the world of work and in some areas can even partially replace formal qualifications and experience,” says Ifo researcher Anna Ruffert
- Retail and wholesale trade companies signalled the highest readiness to make those staff switches among sectors, Ifo added
Reporting by Ludwig Burger, Editing by Linda Pasquini
© Thomson Reuters 2026
