On Wednesday 13 November, MP André Bauler (DP) spoke out on behalf of finance industry employees who are worried that artificial intelligence will become increasingly important in their sector, in an oral question to the Chamber of Deputies. Some of these concerns were also raised in the 2024 edition of KPMG’s CEO Outlook survey, in which all the Luxembourg CEOs polled (and 76% of CEOs worldwide) said that AI would not have a fundamental impact on the number of jobs in their companies.

Citing a recent study by Citigroup, which said that AI could replace around 54% of jobs in the banking sector, Bauler wanted to know in particular how Luxembourg ministers--with their respective departments--were assessing the impact of AI on the development and future profile of jobs in the financial sector, and whether any initiatives were planned to support ongoing training and the upskilling or retraining of employees.

More than 250 fintech companies

Turning to the more specific area of the financial sector, which accounts for 30% of the country’s national employment, finance minister Gilles Roth (CSV) and labour minister Georges Mischo (CSV) responded to Bauler. “It’s true that new technologies initially create a degree of uncertainty for people. But they also offer a series of new opportunities. Artificial intelligence already exists today, for example in fraud detection, facial recognition for remote business relationships, the use of algorithms, etc.,” Roth replied.

“Our financial centre has also acquired a series of new activities over the last 20 to 30 years. We now have more than 250 companies active in fintech. We also have Ebay, Amazon, Alipay here and other very large entrants, serving more than 1.3bn customers. The use of artificial intelligence and digital technology is extremely important. Artificial intelligence and digital technology are the pillars of the future. We need to be ready in terms of legislation.”

A premature impact to assess

For his part, Mischo responded to the employment aspect of Bauler’s question. “According to recent figures from the IGSS, the sector employed around 54,000 people in March 2024, compared with 53,600 the previous year and 51,900 in 2022. So there has not yet been any real reduction in jobs as a result of new technologies. Based on the number of positions reported to Adem by employers in the financial sector, we can see that demand for credit and risk analysts has increased in recent years. Over the last five years, there has been a 91% increase, or 287 positions. Demand for data analysts has tripled, while jobs in reception, front office and administrative management are tending to decline.”

Although the ministers have tried to be reassuring, according to a Vitalbriefing white paper published in January, “it is premature to assess whether AI will lead to a net gain or loss of jobs in the financial sector, particularly in administrative functions.”

This article was originally published in French.