The risk that artificial intelligence will eliminate junior positions is not a myth, but it does not translate into a widespread collapse of IT hiring in Luxembourg either.
ADEM itself notes that junior developers and programmers are now struggling to find employment, as part of their tasks can now be carried out by artificial intelligence tools.
The most recent data show that the volume of IT job postings has remained broadly stable over the past year, with artificial intelligence mainly reshaping the nature of the skills sought rather than the number of available positions.
The idea that artificial intelligence would primarily threaten entry-level positions was long dismissed as an alarmist hypothesis. But data published in recent months by Luxembourg institutions themselves now confirms this observation, forcing recruiters and companies to rethink how they hire young talent.
The most striking observation comes directly from the public employment agency. In April 2026, Isabelle Schlesser, director of ADEM, presented lawmakers with a detailed analysis of the labour market, reported by L'essentiel. The ADEM director raised particular concern about the situation in the IT sector, describing a historic decline in the ICT sector since 2003. According to her, it is above all junior developers and programmers for whom ADEM can no longer find opportunities, with these profiles ending up unemployed without the agency knowing which occupations to redirect them towards.
The ADEM director explicitly attributes part of this trend to new artificial intelligence based technologies, capable of carrying out tasks previously assigned to a junior programmer. The paradox is striking: within that same IT sector, data analysts and data scientists remain among the most sought-after profiles, illustrating a reshuffling of skills rather than a simple overall decline in tech employment, with companies now focusing on already experienced profiles rather than juniors to be trained.
This dynamic fits into a context where artificial intelligence is already widely adopted by Luxembourg companies. A LISER analysis published in Paperjam in March 2026 reveals that 23% of Luxembourg companies reported using artificial intelligence in some form in 2024, compared with 16% in Germany, 10% in France and just 8% in Belgium, a lead driven largely by the financial sector.
"AI supports talent, it does not replace it.", Antoine Boone, Value Partners Luxembourg
In an article by Silicon Luxembourg, Mark Simpson, a headhunter at NeoSapiens, notes that a very high-performing senior developer can today replace several junior profiles: "The risk is structural: without junior roles, no one becomes senior. AI increases productivity but breaks the traditional talent pipeline. This is a major challenge the market has not yet solved."
This observation is nonetheless qualified by Antoine Boone, a recruiter at Value Partners Luxembourg, who states that his company continues to hire junior profiles. In his view, "AI is transforming tools, but accounting remains a profession of responsibility, analysis and relationships. Training internally builds strong skills, a shared culture and long-term continuity. AI supports talent, it does not replace it."
This diversity of viewpoints clearly illustrates that the impact of artificial intelligence on junior employment varies significantly by sector, even within a market as small as Luxembourg's.
According to Virgule.lu, the volume of IT job postings in Luxembourg has remained broadly stable over the past twelve months, which contradicts the idea of a mass disappearance of junior positions put forward by some observers. The content of job postings, however, is changing markedly: in 2025, around 1,300 postings mentioned skills related to artificial intelligence, even though only 16% explicitly referred to generative AI. Companies are therefore looking less for specialists in ChatGPT or Claude than for employees able to incorporate these tools into their day-to-day work.
Luxembourg is in a phase of cautious integration of artificial intelligence, far from the wide-ranging experimentation seen elsewhere after the arrival of ChatGPT. The thematic report published by the Banque centrale du Luxembourg and the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier identifies 402 use cases for artificial intelligence in the financial sector, more than half of which are already in production, but mainly for internal use: assistants for staff, document research or the automation of administrative tasks, rather than a direct reduction in headcount.
As shared by Virgule.lu, a LISER policy brief also points out that skills are now the main factor explaining the adoption of artificial intelligence by Luxembourg companies. Deloitte sums up this shift with the image of the developer as "conductor," someone who chooses the right tools, oversees the output produced by artificial intelligence and ensures regulatory compliance, rather than a role destined to disappear. A shortage of skills remains, according to the same studies, one of the main obstacles to the deployment of artificial intelligence in Luxembourg.
The myth that artificial intelligence has no impact on junior employment does not hold up against ADEM's data, but the idea of a widespread collapse in junior positions does not hold up against the most recent figures from the Luxembourg market either. The truth lies somewhere in between: some profiles, particularly the least specialised junior developers, are indeed facing greater difficulties, while overall IT hiring volumes remain stable and new needs are emerging around data, governance and the integration of artificial intelligence.
For companies in the Grand Duchy, the question is therefore no longer simply whether artificial intelligence will eliminate junior positions, but how to help these profiles acquire the skills that this changing market now demands.
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