Charlotte's biggest employers are already replacing some workers with AI

Driving the news: Bank of America and Wells Fargo continued to tout "efficiency" gains while reporting earnings this week. They're finding they can cut expenses through investments in technology.

• That means they've found ways for AI to do the work of humans, saving the banks money on salaries and benefits.

Bank of America's CEO Brian Moynihan said in the past year that technology now allows the company to "do more with the same amount of people or less people." Its headcount — more than 60% of the bank's expenses — stayed flat in 2025. But the bank expects it to drop in the coming years, even as it sees revenue growth.

• The bank isn't necessarily laying people off. It's being picky when refilling roles.
• "We can just make decisions not to hire and let the headcount drift down," Moynihan said during Wednesday's call.
• The bank is spending $4 billion a year on new technology initiatives, including AI. For example, the bank credited AI with reducing coding work by 30%, saving the need for about 2,000 people.
• Bank of America now has roughly 213,000 employees, with 19,590 in Charlotte.
• It's unclear how exactly future job cuts related to AI could directly impact these banks' huge employment bases in Charlotte. Bank of America did not respond to a request for comment.

Wells Fargo, based in San Francisco, has its largest employee base in Charlotte, with 27,000 workers. A bank spokesperson says that number has "been steady and consistent in recent years."

• However, Wells Fargo has aggressively cut staff over the years, with 22 consecutive quarters of reductions. Its workforce has fallen from approximately 217,500 in December 2024 to about 205,200 today.
• Like Bank of America, it's increasing its technology expenses and expects the cuts to continue.
• "We have more tools ... to get more efficient than we've ever had, especially with AI," CEO Charlie Scharf said on an earnings call Wednesday.
• Most people are "afraid to say" how significant AI will be, Scharf said at a December conference.
• "No one wants to stand up and say that we're going to have lower headcount in the future," he continued. "It's a difficult thing to say."

The other side: Many argue that new technologies eventually create more jobs than they destroy over time, like the internet. Regardless, the transition will be rocky.

• Caleb Theodros, a state senator whose district includes Mecklenburg County, previously told Axios that Charlotte should focus on diversifying its economy by attracting a range of industries, such as healthcare, which is happening at The Pearl.

Reality check: Charlotte's broader job market is still outperforming other metros.

• The city added about 37,800 jobs between November 2024 and November 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's a growth rate of 2.7%, compared to about 0.5% nationwide.
• "Most of those new jobs have been driven by population growth," Chuck McShane, a local data expert with CoStar and Homes.com, tells Axios. "We've also seen banks and professional services companies expand here to be near their customers as well as potential employees."
• Jobs in the financial activities sector increased by 2.4%. In the past few years, companies like Coinbase, SoFi Technologies, Assetmark and Citigroup have announced expansions in Charlotte, promising to bring thousands of jobs.
• At the same time, though, Citigroup's CEO Jane Fraser sent a blunt memo to employees on Wednesday, warning of 1,000 layoffs in a week, Bloomberg reported. The company has plans to slash up to 20,000 jobs by the end of 2026.

The bottom line: AI-driven job replacement could have widespread ramifications for Charlotte if the city doesn't adapt and respond, considering its young worker population.

• "Factory automation of blue-collar jobs was to Detroit what AI automation of white-collar jobs is to Charlotte," Theodros wrote in a recent op-ed.