London: Half of UK workers are worried about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on their jobs, according to a Trades Union Congress (TUC) survey of 2,600 people.
The poll found that 51 percent of respondents fear job losses or changes to terms and conditions due to AI, with concerns strongest among younger workers aged 25–34, where nearly two-thirds (62 percent) reported being worried.
The findings come as major employers, including BT, Amazon, and Microsoft, have warned that advances in AI may lead to workforce reductions. Although the UK’s unemployment rate has risen to a four-year high of 4.7 percent amid a slowing economy, economists note that this trend is not yet directly tied to AI-related investment.
A CEO bragged that he gets "extremely excited" at the thought of firing people and replacing them with AI.
There is an alternative to letting tech bros control AI. pic.twitter.com/6VZCznyZik
— Trades Union Congress (@The_TUC) August 27, 2025
Despite the risks, the TUC argues AI can be harnessed to improve public services and working conditions if properly managed. It is urging the government to involve workers and unions in shaping AI adoption to safeguard jobs and ensure fair treatment. Half of those surveyed (50 percent) said that they want a say in how AI is deployed in workplaces and across the economy, compared with just 17 percent who opposed worker involvement.
The TUC has called for stronger guardrails, including attaching conditions to public funding for AI research and development to prevent mass worker displacement. It also advocates a ‘digital dividend’ for workers, whereby productivity gains from AI are reinvested into workforce skills, higher wages, better working conditions, and greater worker participation in decision-making, including board-level representation.
Union leaders warn that without these protections, AI could worsen inequality, degrade job quality, and fuel social unrest. To counter risks, the TUC is pressing for stronger social security and reskilling systems to help workers adapt.
TUC Assistant General Secretary Kate Bell said that AI ‘could have transformative potential” if managed responsibly. However, Bell cautioned that “left unmanaged and in the wrong hands, the AI revolution could entrench rampant inequality, degrade jobs, and disproportionately benefit shareholders at the expense of workers.”
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