Luxembourg’s government, employers’ associations and trade unions met at Senningen Castle on Thursday to discuss the opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence for the labour market, with no concrete policy measures agreed but further analysis promised.
Prime Minister Luc Frieden, who hosted the meeting alongside Finance Minister Gilles Roth, Economics Minister Lex Delles and Labour Minister Marc Spautz, said AI represents a transformation, comparing it to previous industrial revolutions.
“We want AI to be controlled by humans and to serve humanity,” Frieden said, adding that Luxembourg wants to play an active role in the technology’s introduction and to “be in the front carriage.”
On jobs, Frieden struck a measured tone, arguing that many roles would change rather than disappear outright. “Some jobs will be affected, others will be created,” he said, drawing parallels to earlier waves of technological disruption.
The large-scale meeting is to be repeated as soon as further analyses of the effects on the individual sectors are available. © Photo credit: Christophe Olinger
The unions were less sanguine. OGBL president Nora Back cited a Statec study suggesting around 90% of Luxembourg jobs could be affected by AI in some way. “There are indeed major risks. That’s why we’re here, to ensure that these are addressed,” Back said.
Around 64,000 jobs could be automated through AI, the Statec report had warned, suggesting that 90% of jobs in Luxembourg are exposed to AI but also suggesting that new job opportunities will arise because of the new technologies.
The union on Thurdsay called for proactive analysis of different sectors and protective measures for workers, and has flagged that AI must not be used for biometric surveillance or to monitor employees’ behaviour and emotions.
Back also pointed to Amazon’s decision to cut over 300 jobs in Luxembourg last year as a cautionary example of what unchecked automation can look like in practice.
This followed mass layoffs at adult entertaintment company Docler/Byborg, which is based in Luxembourg and fired around half its Grand Duchy workforce, citing automation and AI.
No concrete measures were agreed on Thursday. In the coming weeks, individual sectors – including financial services, skilled trades and agriculture – will be analysed in more detail, after which the tripartite meeting is expected to reconvene.
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(This article was originally published by the Luxemburger Wort. Translated using AI and edited by Kabir Agarwal.)
