More than a quarter of large businesses expect to cut headcount within the next year due to the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), with junior roles most likely to be axed, according to a survey of UK employers, reports the Financial Times.

The Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) said 26 percent of large private sector organizations and 20 percent of public sector employers expected to have fewer staff in the next 12 months because of AI, compared with just 9 percent of small- and medium-sized enterprises.

“While SMEs appear to be doing more with the same number of people, large private sector employers appear to be streamlining,” the body for HR professionals said.

Among employers who said AI would reduce their headcount, a quarter expected a decrease of more than 10 percent, it added.

CIPD’s research showed the starkest change in the financial services sector, where 37 percent of employers expected AI to cut jobs, followed by IT where 26 percent expected headcount to fall. The share in the legal, accounting and consultancy sector was 24 percent.