Multinational companies in Bulgaria do not yet use artificial intelligence widely, a survey by the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (KNSB) suggests. It covers working conditions and industrial relations at the firms from 2021 to 2026. Violeta Ivanova, acting director of the Institute for Social and Trade Union Research and Training (ISSIO), presented the findings.

They were presented at a discussion forum at KNSB headquarters in Sofia. The forum was run by the Club of Chairs of Trade Union Organisations in Branches of Multinational Companies in Bulgaria and organised by KNSB and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Bulgaria.

Field research ran from June to September 2026 and included interviews with 80 people. The firms studied employ 46,742 people in Bulgaria. Of these, 28.9% are union members, and 85% of the unionised workers belong to KNSB. The confederation has union branches in 81 multinational companies, with nearly 23,000 members.

Some 16% of respondents say their company does not use artificial intelligence or is about to bring it in. Where it is already in use, it is most widespread in human resources, in 13% of processes. The share is 9.3% in supply chains and 7.4% in finance and accounting.

Output or activity is growing at 30.8% of the firms surveyed and falling at 26.9%. Ivanova said growth is mostly in telecoms, infrastructure, construction and some manufacturing sectors. The fall is mostly in energy-intensive and export-focused production, because of high prices for raw materials, energy and logistics, and tougher competition from outside the EU.

Employment is rising in 45.6% of the companies, steady in 36.4% and falling in 15.9%. Ivanova put the changes down to market conditions, lower output, restructuring, digitalisation and automation.

Respondents named digitalisation of processes (15.4%), automation and robotics (12%) and energy-efficient technology (10.3%) as the new technologies of the past five years. Many firms also have special pay systems, Ivanova said. She gave as examples locally adapted pay models, a grading system, in-house job classification and a competence factor used to assess staff and set wages.

KNSB president Plamen Dimitrov spoke about the role of multinational companies and the voice of workers in them. He said new technology arrives first in these firms, and the companies bring new techniques with them. Dimitrov said the key question is whether workers have a voice at the company through the union, the European Works Council, information and consultation systems, and collective bargaining.

Change at a company does not succeed if the people who create its value have no say in how it is set, Dimitrov said. Competitiveness does not last if it comes from job insecurity, weaker workers' rights or wearing down workers and their unions, he added. He stressed democracy in the workplace, corporate responsibility and real protection for people.

Multinational firms have built up large resources, and most foreign direct investment has gone into them, Dimitrov said. Last year it was about 3.3 billion, or nearly 3% of gross domestic product.