How AI is changing work in Charlotte

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by Tony Mecia

In February, LPL Financial of Fort Mill said it was laying off 300 of its 10,000 workers nationwide, citing “opportunities to streamline.”

Also that month, Charlotte-based LendingTree laid off 24 workers, as it shifted investment toward new AI tools.

Charlotte’s big banks, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, have touted efficiencies and artificial intelligence in paring back their workforces, largely through attrition.

And throughout the Charlotte region and the country, businesses small and large are grappling with questions over how AI will reshape their industries. Ask anyone what the big trend is in their line of work, and the response is likely to be “AI.”

For companies, AI holds the promise of becoming a transformational technology and offers more efficient ways to get work done.

And workers — many of whom are quickly becoming familiar with new concepts like “prompting” and “hallucinations” — worry about what it means for their jobs and future careers.

Against that backdrop, The Charlotte Ledger this week is taking a closer look at the effects of AI in a series called “AI at Work.” Our reporters talked to people on the front lines of the changes and will explain where we are and where things seem to be heading. Drawing on data, expert insights and local anecdotes, we aim to help you understand this important and complex topic — and give advice on how to adapt to the shifting realities of work.

For Charlotte, like most cities, there’s a lot at stake. If there are big disruptions, they’re likely to be in office jobs … which Charlotte has in abundance.

Although Charlotte has evolved into more than just a banking center and has total employment of more than 1.4 million, the region still has about 127,000 positions in finance. It also has 236,000 in a category known as business and professional services — which includes legal, accounting, architecture and other industries — as well as 70,000 in tech.

Rankings of cities most vulnerable to AI-related job losses typically place Charlotte somewhere in the middle of the pack, below tech-heavy Silicon Valley, New York and Washington, but above hospitality or industrial strongholds like Las Vegas; Toledo, Ohio; and Fort Wayne, Ind.

A study released last week by Tufts University examining the geographical distribution of jobs vulnerable to AI ranked Charlotte No. 41 out of 530 metro areas by the percentage of potential AI-related job losses, with 6.57%, or about 86,000 jobs. Durham-Chapel Hill was No. 4, with 8.94%, and Raleigh-Cary was No. 14, with 7.65%.

The top fields listed as most vulnerable spanned a variety of white-collar jobs, especially in technology, including computer programmers, web designers and web developers. The No. 1 most at-risk was “writers and authors” (gulp).

Among the least at risk: Roof bolters, miners, excavating machine operators and orderlies.

In the Charlotte region, the study forecast that the biggest job losses would come in the following fields:

Of course, that’s just one of many predictions about the effect of AI — and trends are hard to predict in real time. Some economists point out that other disruptive technologies that conjured fears of job losses, such as the rise of the internet and the Industrial Revolution, did not result in widespread unemployment. Instead, the nature of work shifted, and new jobs replaced those that were lost.

For the most part, recent employment data doesn’t directly show widespread job losses. Nationally, employers added 178,000 jobs in March, triple economists’ expectations.

At a talk in January at the Charlotte Economics Club, Laura Dawson Ullrich, director of economic research for job-hunting site Indeed, said data suggests that there’s little evidence that AI is doing entire jobs today. Instead, she said, companies are spending heavily on AI and technology and are hiring less than they otherwise might, while working to make their employees more productive.

“In our data, we do not see much evidence that AI itself is taking over a lot of jobs and doing a lot of jobs,” she said. “Instead, what we believe we're seeing is that investment by companies has shifted towards capital — towards technology and AI — and away from labor. And so the shift towards AI spending is also causing big shifts in labor markets.”

In The Charlotte Ledger this week, we’re examining some of those shifts to help you understand what’s happening and where it’s headed.

Here’s the lineup:

◼️ TODAY: Jobs on the line: Whose jobs are most at risk, and how does Charlotte stack up?
◼️ TUESDAY: The entry-level squeeze: Young workers face a tough job market and wonder if AI is to blame
◼️ WEDNESDAY: The backlash: As companies rush into AI, a wary public is raising doubts about trust and jobs
◼️ THURSDAY: Blue-collar boom: As AI threatens office jobs, more workers are turning to the trades — where demand is high and automation is low
◼️ FRIDAY: Navigating the AI era: Experts say workers who adapt early — and lean into human skills — will have the edge

The complete series — written entirely by humans, we should probably add — is available only to Charlotte Ledger paying members.

Our regular editions of The Charlotte Ledger will return next week.

Tony Mecia is executive editor of The Charlotte Ledger. Reach him at [email protected].

Faces of AI (July 2023),  a series examining the challenges and opportunities of artificial intelligence

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How artificial intelligence is transforming health care (January 2025): A series in partnership with N.C. Health News

We want to hear from you: How is AI showing up in your job right now? Are you using it? Or feeling its impact in ways big or small? Share your experience with us and help inform our coverage of how AI is changing work in Charlotte. (Drop us an email at [email protected]) 

Events submitted by readers to The Ledger’s events board:

THURSDAY: “Artist Talk with Kim Mupangilaï: Cross-Cultural Identity, Heritage and Form,” 6-7:30 p.m., at Mint Museum Randolph, 2730 Randolph Road. Kim Mupangilaï is a sculptural furniture designer and educator based in New York, where she teaches at Parsons School of Design. Mupangilaï will discuss how cross-cultural identity and heritage are represented in her furniture and material designs. Free. 

SATURDAY: “Mecklenburg County Master Gardener Plant Sale,” 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Mecklenburg County Extension Office, 2415 Lester St. Shop for perennials, annuals, vegetables and natives to perfect your spring garden. Visit seven continuous education booths covering topics including sharpening garden tools, creating bee hotels, growing tomatoes and creating pesticide free mosquito control. This is a fundraiser with all proceeds going towards funding ecologically sustainable gardening education. Free.

APRIL 12: “Strangers on a Train” - Movie and Talkback,” 3-5:15 p.m., at Independent Picture House, 4237 Raleigh St. A charming psychopath tries to coerce a tennis star into his theory that two strangers can commit the perfect crime by exchanging murders—each killing the other’s most-hated person. Join the Independent Picture House for a screening and post-film discussion with series co-curator Sam Shapiro, who taught film courses on Hitchcock at UNC Charlotte for 30 years. $9.75/ticket.

APRIL 21: “Customer Discovery Lab,” 5:30-8:30 p.m. Customer Discovery Lab is a 6-week cohort program that helps early-stage founders validate their ideas, test assumptions, and build a business model rooted in real customer needs. This program is made possible by a grant from the NC IDEA Foundation. Free.

APRIL 28: “Getting Ready for College Admissions Webinar,” 12-1 p.m., Virtual Zoom Webinar. Join The Charlotte Ledger for an expert-led webinar designed to give families clear, practical guidance on what matters most in today’s college admissions landscape. Two experienced college application consultants will share the key steps students should be taking now—from building meaningful activities to shaping a strong application story. Free.

➡️ List your event on the Ledger events board.