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Study on the influence of digitalization on work in the automotive industry

Almost half of jobs are under threat through to 2030

Ludwigsburg – 46 percent of jobs in the automotive industry are threatened by automation and digitalization through to 2030 – the activities in question will then no longer be carried out by people, but by intelligent robots and systems. This is the key result of "Digital Transformation – The influence of digitalization on the workforce of the automotive industry", a study which was produced by MHP Management- und IT-Beratung GmbH in collaboration with the Herman Hollerith Teaching and Research Center at the University of Reutlingen. In order to investigate the effects of digitalization, the authors analyzed eleven occupational profiles within the automotive industry, broke them down into activities and derived the probability that they will be automated based on comparative data. According to the findings, 46 percent of employees work in occupations with an automation probability of 70 to 100 percent, 33 percent of employees work in occupations with an automation probability of 30 to 70 percent and 21 percent of employees work in occupations with an automation probability of 0 to 30 percent. Occupational profiles involving creative, social and complex activities are much less susceptible to automation. On the other hand, digitalization will mainly replace many repetitive activities that are carried out in structured settings. However, the development of intelligent robots and systems as well as the complex evaluation of the data they generate will also create new jobs. For the automotive industry, employee qualification will therefore become the key task in coming years.

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Stefano Esposito, Partner at MHP responsible for Human Resources: "The automotive industry with its manufacturers and suppliers as well as the mechanical engineering sector is of enormous importance to Germany. If almost half of all jobs are under threat here in the foreseeable future, this will not only have implications for every single person who works in the areas affected, but also for the entire economy and society. Nevertheless, wanting to stop digitalization is neither possible nor clever. Instead, we should work together over the coming years in order to ensure that the people in the affected occupations are qualified as well as possible and we should establish completely new training programs for the workers of tomorrow. Many companies in the automotive industry have already recognized this and are starting to shape the transition." The complete study can be accessed free of charge on the website of MHP:

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https://www.mhp.com/en/the-company/studies/. For further information and interviews on the study, please feel free to contact Stefano Esposito (

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stefano.esposito@mhp.com) and Dr. Oliver Kelkar (

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oliver.kelkar@mhp.com).

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