London weighs response to AI job risk

London faces unusually high exposure to AI-driven workplace change, according to estimates from City Hall and international bodies. A report commissioned by Sadiq Khan found that at least 46 per cent of London’s workers, 2.4 million, are in roles where GenAI could automate some tasks, compared with a UK average of 38 per cent. More than 300,000 administrative roles face the highest exposure, while a further 748,000 roles in IT, data analysis and secretarial work are at risk to varying degrees.

The OECD’s Economic Outlook describes London as the most vulnerable comparable city in the world to AI-induced automation, with nearly three in four jobs at risk now or in the near future. The risk is linked to the capital’s concentration of finance, professional services and creative industries. Separate analysis from the Office for Budget Responsibility warns that 3.4m people in the UK could lose their jobs because of AI in the next 10 years, while 30 per cent, 10.2m workers, may see their roles complemented by AI within a decade.

Early signs of disruption include employers reducing graduate hiring and a CVC sale process for Greek e-commerce business Skroutz in which AI tools replaced bankers’ usual role. Khan has created the London AI and Jobs Taskforce, chaired by Baroness Martha Lane Fox, to assess exposure, support skills training and advise employers and workers. The initiative is paired with a £12m package to help small businesses integrate AI.