The short answer is Yes annnnd No !

But how ?

Okeh let’s talk about the softwares we have seen these years that may replace PLC programmers, and funny enough, one of us is developping them *sigh* 

Right now you can Automate and generate mandane and repetetive tasks for PLC programmers with tools like Codesys Automation software and PLC checker.

Sebastian Grollmus a Senior PLC programmer is working on a solution based on Siemens Tia Portal to generate code for special machines, it consists of three main pillars :

 Reusability: By using types, you can create certain functionalities or objects in a library and reuse them in different projects.    

Consistency: Types enable a uniform design and implementation of functions or objects. If you update a type in your library, this update will take effect in all projects in which this type is used.

Code generation: To generate PLC code efficiently via the TIA Portal Openness interface, your blocks must be stored as types in libraries.

While this work seems fascinating and innovative it’s unlikely that will completely replace PLC programmers in the near future. However, it’s true that they are transforming certain aspects of PLC programming, making processes more efficient and accelerating development.