AI and its Impact on the Global Workforce
September 26, 2025 – The arrival of AI on the global business scene feels like old news. Yet the pace of its implementation and resulting impact on the future of work is staggering. McKinsey Global Institute’s “A New Future of Work: The Race to Deploy AI and Raise Skills in Europe and Beyond” projects that “by 2030…about 27 percent of current hours worked in Europe and 30 percent of hours worked in the U.S. could be automated, accelerated by gen AI,” driving real concerns about automation and job replacement, the lack of appropriate skills in today’s workforce, and the negative impact on the labor market. At the same time, this accelerated adoption of AI and new technologies is also driving real productivity gains.
Jordi Berenguer, managing partner, IMSA Search Global Partners Spain and general manager, AdQualis Human Results, recently shared his insights. “As AI continues to impact the creation and transformation of employment, it is also necessary to highlight the importance of implementing AI in a way that protects the rights and privacy of employees, and that promotes a balance between automation and human contribution in the workplace,” they said.
McKinsey’s survey of C-suite executives around the world confirms companies already face significant challenges regarding worker competencies. Ramping up skills required for jobs in new tech and AI is critical, particularly tech-related skills such as advanced IT and programming, data analysis, and math, the IMSA report explained. Tech and/or tech-adjacent jobs demand higher cognitive skills like critical thinking, problem structuring, and complex information processing, also cited as skills shortfall areas. Interestingly, executives report having enough employees with “basic cognitive skills and, to a lesser extent, physical and manual skills.”
Leveraging AI for Economic and Social Benefit
To remain competitive, companies have no choice but to jump on the new tech bandwagon. “Broadly speaking, AI can help companies increase their efficiency and productivity, improve the quality of their products and services, drive innovation and stay competitive in a constantly evolving market,” Mr. Berenguer said. “Beyond its advantages, it is important to implement AI strategically and ethically, considering its impact on employees and society in general.”
Related: Delivering Talent for the AI Revolution
Estimates of AI’s effect on adding global economic activity over the next 10 years range from $7 trillion or seven percent additional cumulative global GDP (GoldmanSachs.com) to $13 trillion or about 16 percent higher cumulative global GDP (McKinsey Global Institute). “This economic growth will not occur without an appropriately skilled workforce,” the IMSA report said. “Occupational transition has become a necessity, as executives strategize how to provide for current and future workforce needs. As adoption of automation and generative AI accelerates, businesses will continue to leverage the potential of these technologies not only for financial benefit, but also to ensure the long-term employability of their workforce.”
Job Winners and Job Losers
As digitization, robotics, and AI replace many jobs, new ones are being created. Coursera, a global open online professional learning provider, partners with leading tech companies such as Google, IBM, Meta, and Microsoft, as well as premier universities like Stanford, UPenn, Imperial College of London, and MIT, to provide degrees and certificates in AI careers. These include AI engineer, data scientist, data engineer, machine learning, robotics engineer, and software engineer. A scan of the internet shows additional AI jobs, including natural language processing, user experience, data analysis, and computer vision engineer.
How AI Is Reshaping the Talent Pyramid
Artificial intelligence is reshaping the professional services landscape, upending the decades-old leverage model that has long defined the industry. According to Clark R. Beecher of Beecher Reagan, the traditional talent pyramid is collapsing from the bottom as firms rely less on junior analysts. This shift is forcing organizations to rethink recruiting strategies, redeploy investments, and prepare mid-level leaders to step into tomorrow’s go-to-market roles. Let’s take a closer look!
“The job losers tend to include those positions which require basic cognitive skills such as office support and customer service roles,” the IMSA report said. “Basic data entry, literacy, math, and communication skills are being automated, which means fewer bookkeepers, phone operators/receptionists, salespeople, and research analysts. Also, robotics is replacing many jobs requiring physical labor and repetitive tasks in industries like manufacturing and warehousing.”
Balancing Priorities in the Age of AI
To capitalize on the fast-paced AI revolution, the IMSA report explained that C-Suite executives must prioritize:
- Understanding technology options and their relevant potential to enhance business.
- Identifying those tools most likely to drive productivity and growth.
- Planning for short and long-term workforce realignment through reskilling/upskilling and new talent recruitment.
- Developing the entire workforce to adapt to the changing operational environment.
- Pursuing ongoing tech education at all levels, from the C-Suite on down.
IMSA Search Global Partners is an international executive search network with 25-plus member countries and over 50 offices across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Members of the IMSA International Executive Search network are all boutique search firms.
Related: Beyond Traditional Executive Search: Human Insight, AI Power
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
