Skip next section Few German workers fear job loss from AI, survey finds
10/14/2025October 14, 2025
Few German workers fear job loss from AI, survey finds
Only about 5% of employees in Germany are worried that could threaten their jobs within the next five years, according to a new survey by the health insurer AOK’s Scientific Institute (WIdO).
Two-thirds of respondents said they were “not at all concerned,” while another 23% were “rather unconcerned” about AI’s impact on their job security.
The survey also revealed limited knowledge about AI. Even in companies where it is already in use, just under 40% of employees said they had received any related training. Nearly half of respondents said they “roughly” understood what AI means, while 47% believed they could explain it fairly well. Only 5% considered themselves experts.
WIdO director Helmut Schröder said he was surprised by the widespread lack of concern, noting that studies by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) suggest that roughly 38% of jobs in Germany involve tasks that could be largely automated. He warned that AI systems could also take over more complex professional roles.
According to the survey, 42% of respondents said AI is already being used in their workplace, while 8.5% reported concrete plans to introduce it and 15% said it was being discussed. Only 22% said AI was not yet an issue in their work environment, and just 12% believed it would never be relevant to their field.
The survey was conducted in April among 2,490 employees.
https://p.dw.com/p/51xYH
Skip next section Majority of Germans back reintroduction of military conscription
10/14/2025October 14, 2025
Majority of Germans back reintroduction of military conscription
Most Germans favor reinstating compulsory military service, according to a new Forsa poll for Germany’s Stern news magazine.
The survey found that 54% support mandatory service in the Bundeswehr, while 41% oppose it and 5% expressed no opinion.
Support is strongest among conservative voters, with 74% of CDU/CSU supporters in favor. Among the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), 58% back a return to conscription, while 80% of Left Party voters oppose it.
The poll revealed a clear generational divide: 61% of those aged 60 and older support conscription, compared to just 37% among 18- to 29-year-olds, .
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Forsa has tracked fluctuating public opinion on the issue, but since March 2024, support for reinstating conscription has clearly prevailed. The draft was suspended, not abolished, in 2011.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius of the SPD has , initially on a voluntary basis. Mandatory service would be introduced only if recruitment goals are not met or if the security situation deteriorates.
https://p.dw.com/p/51x6K
Skip next section Welcome to our coverage10/14/2025October 14, 2025
Welcome to our coverage
Guten Tag from DW’s newsroom in Bonn.
You join us as figures show that a large majority of Germans are not worried about artificial intelligence taking their jobs.
The survey also showed that there was limited knowledge about AI, with very few workers saying they understood it well.
Meanwhile, figures show that inflation remains stubbornly above target in Germany.
Follow DW for more news about this and other stories from Germany here in our blog.
https://p.dw.com/p/51wq7
The post Germany news: Few workers fear AI job threat, survey shows appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
