Artificial Intelligence (AI) is influencing the world of work with high dynamism and shaping companies' HR planning. A joint study by JLL, the Sloan School of Management, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)'s Center for Real Estate analyses this development. The study, titled “Where AI is changing jobs and what it means for real estate”, states that AI does not lead to a uniform reduction in commercial space but creates profound differentiations between markets, sectors, and asset classes.
The long-term study focuses on the US office market but also includes international metropolises, among them the seven German locations of Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich, and Stuttgart. Helge Scheunemann, Head of Research at JLL Germany, emphasises that for companies and property investors, it is not the theoretical risk of AI that is decisive, but rather the adaptability of a location. Future growth markets are characterised by their ability to quickly absorb disruptions and reallocate employees to newly emerging, technology-driven positions. A sole focus on employee numbers or static HR planning is no longer sufficient for long-term property decisions.
Disruption and Growth in the Context of AI
In the US property market, demand for office space in the US tech sector continues to rise, even though employment declined by 1.5 per cent at the beginning of the year. This indicates a decoupling of AI growth from broader trends in the tech sector and other office-using industries. AI affects the labour market through three simultaneous forces: it expands existing job roles without reducing staff, displaces specific professional fields, and creates new areas of activity. Although AI was cited as the primary cause for five per cent of job cuts in 2025, over one million AI-related jobs were created between 2023 and 2025. The balance of these forces varies regionally and by industry, leading to different developments in the respective property markets.
San Francisco is one example, where nearly 30 per cent of all leases since 2025 have come from AI companies. This occurs even though the city is one of the US centres with the highest risk of AI-related job losses. Scheunemann points out that market adaptability, the utilisation of new opportunities, and the reallocation of labour are more crucial for property performance than the pure exposure risk. The forces described define four characteristic development directions for demand in the markets:
- —High negative disruption in markets with automation of back-office and administrative tasks, leading to smaller teams and reduced demand for traditional office space.
- —Low disruption through expansion in markets where AI supports skilled knowledge workers and encourages companies to switch to higher-quality, collaborative offices.
- —High balancing disruption through industry restructuring and job displacement, causing a geographical redistribution of space demand without reducing overall demand.
- —AI boom offers growth potential in innovation centres and AI-native sectors, leading to competition for premium buildings.
The seven German metropolises are pursuing different strategies in this regard. Munich positions itself as Germany's leading city for AI-related innovations, ranking first in Europe and eleventh worldwide for AI research publications. Stuttgart benefits from a robust funding environment for research and development, which accounts for 5.9 per cent of regional GDP. The tech ecosystem in Berlin has produced 23 unicorns in the last five years, comparable to Toronto and surpassing metropolises such as Singapore, Stockholm, Miami, and Shenzhen. With nearly USD 54 billion in venture capital funding nationwide over the past five years, German cities are, according to JLL's analysis, well-positioned to benefit from AI-driven economic growth and property investments.
