“It will be great if you do it well, if you are able to implement it and do it faster than others. If you are left behind, you will have a problem for sure. We work day and night to not fall behind.”
He estimated that some 60 to 70% of jobs could go digital.
“Do I expect to need the same amount of developers, salespeople, and consultants in the future? Definitely not with the job profiles that they have today,” he added.
“Becoming a CEO and believing that now you’re making a decision, and you have the power, so everyone will just follow, is probably the biggest mistake you can make,” Klein said.
“You can put a lot of policies in place, you can put more pressure, but people will not just automatically follow. You need to over-communicate in times of change to convince people.”
Fortune reached out to SAP for further comment.
SAP isn’t alone in realizing that AI’s capabilities means they have to rethink the size and shape of their workforce to stay ahead.
As executives seem to be in agreement that the workforces of tomorrow will be leaner than today, leaders like Goodwill CEO Steve Preston worry that the changes will hurt those at the bottom of the ladder the most.
