Where AI Could Replace the Most Workers

An April 2026 report on job automation found that Malta faces the biggest threat from AI replacing workers. With Amazon cutting 16K international roles to let AI handle the same tasks, a new study by construction scheduling platform Planera shows which countries have the most people working in jobs that machines will soon be able to do.

• Malta has the highest automation risk in the world, with nearly half of workers holding jobs that AI can replace.

• Close to 96 million American workers could lose their jobs to AI, making them the largest at-risk workforce.

• Service-focused countries like Greece and Spain face bigger risks, with hospitality and retail roles most exposed to AI.

The research tracked employment across different economic sectors to find how exposed each country's workforce is to AI automation. The report used official labor data from government sources and matched them with automation risk probabilities for each industry. These probabilities measure how likely machines are to replace human workers in sectors like hospitality, finance, retail, and professional services. Countries were ranked by how much of their workforce is doing work that AI can handle.

Here's a look at the top 10 countries where workers face the highest automation risk:

Country	Weighted AI  Exposure Index	Total Emp  (000s)	Total Weighted Employees at Risk of Replacement   (Emp×Risk)
Malta	46.56%	332.80	155.00
Canada	44.87%	8,865.00	3,977.60
Greece	44.84%	5,525.10	2,477.30
Cyprus	44.77%	508.40	227.60
Luxembourg	43.82%	538.90	236.20
Netherlands	43.67%	10,890.00	4,755.20
United States	43.63%	158,286.00	69,067.90
Spain	43.35%	23,091.10	10,010.40
Belgium	43.28%	5,575.70	2,413.00
Italy	42.22%	28,746.10	12,136.90

You can access the complete research findings here.

1. Malta

• AI Exposure Index: 46.6%

• Total workforce: 332.8K

• Workers at risk: 155K

Malta faces the biggest job automation risk in the world. Nearly half the workforce here holds jobs that AI can replace, putting 155K people at risk of displacement. The island economy depends on admin work, hospitality, and professional services, all sectors where automation is easiest. Malta's small size means these workers can't easily move to safer sectors either, and with 1 in 2 jobs vulnerable, the country faces greater threats than larger economies.

2. Canada

Canada comes second with close to 4 million workers employed in roles that machines can handle. That’s about 45% of the local workforce. Information technology and hospitality drive the risk here, with 75% of Canadian tech jobs predicted to be automated soon, while food service faces the same risks at 72%. Unlike Malta, Canada has options to retrain workers, but the sheer number of people affected means displacement will still hit hard across provinces and cities.

3. Greece

Greece matches Canada's 45% automation risk, with 2.5 million workers holding jobs that AI can replace. The Greek economy depends on tourism and services, sectors where automation is advancing fastest. Accommodation and food services employ 730K people at 72% replacement risk, while wholesale and retail trade adds another 880K workers at 51% risk. The country's ongoing economic struggles make retraining difficult as well, so many Greeks face automation threats without safety nets.

4. Cyprus

Cyprus ranks fourth with 45% of its workforce exposed to automation. About 228K Cypriots work in roles that machines can handle, a large share for an island with just over half a million employed. Like Malta and Greece, Cyprus built its economy on tourism and professional services. Legal, accounting, and scientific jobs here face 70% automation risk, while hospitality is at 72%. The island's geographic isolation makes job mobility harder, so workers who lose positions to AI have fewer options than people in bigger countries.

5. Luxembourg

Luxembourg rounds out the top five as automation threatens 236K jobs. Lawyers and accountants here face worse odds than bankers, with 70% of their work easily replaceable compared to 51% in finance. Being one of the world's richest countries means Luxembourg can retrain its workforce better than others. However, that will still require nearly half of all workers to start over in new careers.

An automation expert from Planera commented on the study:

"People think factory workers face the biggest automation threat, but the data shows service jobs are more at risk. Manufacturing was already automated decades ago, so the workers left are doing tasks robots can't handle yet. But admin assistants, retail clerks, and hospitality staff are all doing repetitive work that AI can learn quickly. These jobs make up huge portions of employment in developed countries, which is why places like Malta and Greece show such high exposure rates."