Why Czechia could attract global companies in 2027 – and where the jobs may be

Companies deciding where to invest in 2027 face challenges that looked very different only a few years ago. Deglobalization is being driven by war and hostile trade barriers, while artificial intelligence is transforming entire industries and changing what businesses require from employees and international operations.

But according to industry leaders, Czechia is emerging as a strong base for global business services. The question for 2027 is whether the country can turn its stability, skilled workforce and growing technological capabilities into a lasting advantage over competing business destinations.

The sector has traditionally benefited from the country’s international workforce, foreign-language skills and position in Europe, but as its once-rapid employment growth slows, operations are being asked to provide more specialized and strategic value. Czechia’s Global Business Services centers are moving up the value chain, creating more specialized roles for international talent in the process.

As the Association of Business Service Leaders in Czechia (ABSL) prepares for its annual conference at Prague’s Clarion Congress Hotel on Oct. 13–14, Expats.cz spoke with experts who have witnessed this growth firsthand, about why more international companies could choose Czechia in the coming year, what might hold the country back and what those decisions would mean for the ever rising population of foreign workers.

According to ABSL's panel of experts, two priorities are influencing where companies invest: growth and continuity. AI offers opportunities for significant productivity gains, while geopolitical volatility, cyber threats and technological disruption have made business continuity equally important.

“Business services are entering a new era where virtually every function is becoming AI-driven,” says Jonathan Appleton, Managing Director at ABSL. “Companies need professionals who can combine technical expertise with business understanding, critical thinking and the ability to work alongside AI-powered tools."

PwC, a partner of the ABSL conference, found that AI agents can now perform 25–40 percent of typical business services tasks, while productivity growth is 40 percent higher among companies most exposed to AI than among those least exposed.

But technological change can also threaten continuity.

According to Andrea Michalcová, Director at the Center for an Informed Society, which focuses on strengthening societal resilience, “business services companies face practical continuity risks: from cyberattacks and power outages to disrupted supply chains and dependence on critical people and systems.”

For companies selecting locations in 2027, the strongest destinations will therefore need to support both innovation and operational security. As ABSL’s latest annual report put it: “Europe’s edge lies in trust, regulation, and mature delivery centers, but without scale and speed, this advantage could erode.”

Other conference partners will bring expertise from across the sector. Colliers will examine how workplace design and next-generation office hubs can support talent and growth, while Siemens will share its experience developing award-winning global AI projects in Czechia and CEE region. Manpower will focus on building a sustainable labor market that can support the long-term development of Czech business services.

These are, according to Appleton, “exactly the conversations we will be having at the ABSL Conference 2026, where leaders will explore how AI, talent and resilience are impacting the future of global business services.”

The conference will also feature government participation, with ministers Karel Havlíček, Aleš Juchelka and Robert Plaga expected to join discussions on the sector’s contribution to the Czech economy and the development of a sustainable labor market.

Czechia remains a vital business services hub, but the reason companies choose it has shifted. Once viewed primarily as a lower-cost labor destination, it is taking on an “increasingly strategic role within global organizations,” Appleton says. These indicate new career opportunities may be on the horizon, especially for the international workforce.

AI capabilities and stability could prove central to Czechia’s case in 2027. An EU study this year found that the use of generative AI in Czech workplaces is above the EU average. Czechia also scored 82.5 out of 100 for political stability in the World Bank’s latest Worldwide Governance Indicators, a metric closely watched by businesses and investors.

“Czechia’s relatively stable environment provides an important foundation, but stability alone does not make businesses resilient,” Michalcová warns. “The real question is whether companies know where their vulnerabilities lie and can keep operating when something goes wrong.”

“That means looking beyond the immediate crisis and understanding the dependencies that can bring a business to a standstill,” she adds.

The biggest restrictions for advancement may be how quickly the country can adapt to these new directions. Czechia's skilled domestic labor market is limited in size, and 61 percent of companies report difficulty finding suitable applicants. This normally would present a chance for international workers to fill the gaps, but issues with language barriers, bueraucracy and immigration make it more difficult for global firms to expand their Czech operations.

Martin Malo, Managing Director at Grafton Recruitment, another ABSL conference partner, says that global firms realize “talent has become a significant strategic asset. Companies are choosing locations based on where they can access the right skills rather than the lowest costs.”

“Countries that attract the best professionals are those offering flexibility, efficient immigration processes, strong career opportunities, security, and a high quality of life with reasonable costs of living,” he adds – all qualities frequently associated with life in Czechia today.

Appleton says Czechia’s growing strategic importance “creates exciting opportunities for international talent in areas such as AI implementation, data, cybersecurity, digital transformation, finance, HR and customer operations.”

These requirements expose two areas in which Czechia could lose ground. Part-time contracts accounted for 7.6 percent of employment in Czechia in 2024, compared with an EU average of 17.2 percent. ABSL has also identified lengthy immigration procedures for non-EU nationals as a barrier to recruiting international talent.

“Companies need increasingly specialized combinations of technical expertise, language skills and business knowledge,” Malo says. “Success depends on how well Czechia combines an open labour market with data-driven workforce planning, enabling companies to build resilient, future-ready and flexible teams.”

For international professionals, this shift suggests that opportunities will remain strong, but employers will increasingly prioritize specialized expertise over general language skills alone. Czechia’s ability to attract those workers could help determine whether more global companies choose the country in 2027.