Latest news with #MarvinEllison
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
"AI Won't Stop Your Water Heater From Leaking" : Lowe's CEO Says Skilled Trades Are Gen Z's Job Security Hack
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW) CEO Marvin Ellison says generative AI won't eliminate all jobs — especially those in skilled trades and customer-facing roles. He recently argued at a business gathering that "manual and customer-facing less likely to be replaced by AI." He emphasized frontline resilience: "AI won't stop your water heater from leaking. It isn't going to respond to an electrical issue in your home," illustrating the limits of automation. Skilled Trades Beat The Robots "It's not going to respond to an electrical issue in your home," Ellison said in June at the Business Roundtable CEO Workforce Forum. He urged early-career workers to "stay as close to the cash register as you can — stay close to the customers." The point was clear: When a pipe bursts, human skill still matters more than artificial intelligence. Don't Miss: 7,000+ investors have joined Timeplast's mission to eliminate microplastics—now it's your turn to $100k+ in investable assets? – no cost, no obligation. To address that challenge, the Business Roundtable named Ellison and Carrier Global (NYSE:CARR) CEO David Gitlin as co-chairs of a skilled trades initiative unveiled in June. The plan shares training playbooks and K-12 outreach across 150 companies, tackling a talent gap that leaves about 20 openings for each qualified welder, plumber, or line worker. Numbers Signal A Shortfall Federal data backs him up. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment for electricians to jump 11% between 2023 and 2033. Plumbers and roofers each log 6% growth, while construction laborers rise 7%. The agency estimates about 80,200 electrician openings each year, driven largely by retirements — proof that machines still need power and pipes. Trending: Accredited Investors: Grab Pre-IPO Shares of the AI Company Powering Hasbro, Sephora & MGM— Demand is already spilling into entry-level hiring. LinkedIn's "Grad Guide 2025: The Jobs, Industries and Cities on the Rise for New Grads," shows construction, utilities, and oil, gas and mining leading growth for new bachelor's graduates. Between 2022 to 2032, a McKinsey analysis finds that annual hiring for essential skilled roles will need to be more than 20 times the projected annual increase in net new jobs — a churn rate no chatbot can solve alone. New Money, New Pipeline Corporate checks are arriving. The Lowe's Foundation earmarked $50 million in Gable Grants to prepare 50,000 tradespeople by 2027, saying the funding "is vital to address America's workforce shortage." Business Roundtable firms plan to pair that cash with shared curricula and community college partnerships to match supply with demand, in an update to its 2018 Workforce Partnership AI's trajectory remains contested. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei in May that the technology could erase 50% of entry‑level office roles and push unemployment to between 10% and 20%. "We have yet to see any evidence of mass replacement," Brad Lightcap, chief operating officer of OpenAI, said on the "Hard Fork" podcast. Meanwhile, BlackRock Inc. (NYSE:BLK) CEO Larry Fink said at CERAWeek in March that the U.S. could "run out of electricians," underscoring a gap robots cannot fill. Read Next: Many are using retirement income calculators to check if they're on pace — Image: Shutterstock This article "AI Won't Stop Your Water Heater From Leaking" : Lowe's CEO Says Skilled Trades Are Gen Z's Job Security Hack originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
New York Times
21-07-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Memphis' Big 12 pitch, including $200 million in sponsorships, isn't gaining traction: Sources
By Chris Vannini, Ralph D. Russo and Justin Williams The University of Memphis pitched itself to the Big 12 with an offer to bring sponsorship revenue to the conference while taking no media rights payments, an unprecedented offer to join a conference, but the deal has not garnered enough support within the league. Advertisement According to people briefed on the situation, that proposal would include Memphis joining the Big 12 without taking revenue from the league for at least five years — what administrators dub the 'SMU model' in the ACC — while also committing hundreds of millions in corporate sponsorships from Memphis supporters. Big 12 athletic directors recently met on the idea, and conference presidents talked about it on Monday. But the determination was that the league is not interested. One source said there was 'very little momentum for this,' and multiple league sources expressed concern that adding Memphis could 'dilute' the league's value in the next television deal. Any expansion would need 12 of 16 members to approve a move, a number that was not reached for UConn or Gonzaga in recent years. Memphis did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Memphis' proposal includes $200 million in sponsorships with FedEx, Lowe's and AutoZone over five years, according to one person. FedEx, based in Memphis, has long been a supporter of Tigers athletics, currently committing $25 million over five years in name, image and likeness support. Marvin Ellison, the CEO of Lowe's, is a Memphis graduate and is on the school's board of trustees, which also includes FedEx executive vice president Rob Carter. Multiple people with knowledge of the situation said Memphis' leadership first reached out to Big 12 presidents about the idea, rather than the conference office. The proposal would also include a clause allowing the Big 12 to kick the Tigers out before the next TV deal is done if it's determined they're not bringing enough value. The tepid performance of recent American additions to the Big 12, outside of Houston men's basketball, has also caused some pause among administrators. Memphis' pitch is an attempt to make this a no-risk situation for the Big 12. The school and its big-money supporters have tried to find a pathway to a Power 4 conference ahead of what could be another round of conference realignment in the next five years. After SMU got an ACC invitation in part thanks to its billionaire backers, Memphis is trying the same thing. Advertisement Memphis has also talked with the Pac-12 about a football-only membership, if the rest of the Tigers sports can get into the Big East, but that may not be a long-term solution. Men's basketball has historically been Memphis' signature sport. The Tigers have reached three Final Fours, including a championship game appearance under John Calipari in 2008. That and Memphis' 1985 Final Four appearance were later vacated due to NCAA violations. Memphis has 29 NCAA men's tournament appearances overall, including three of the past four seasons under coach and former Tigers star Penny Hardaway. But under Hardaway, the program has also incurred multiple NCAA investigations, including being placed on probation last week after an academic counselor paid two softball players to do coursework for a men's basketball player. The football program at Memphis, after decades of mediocrity and struggles, has had its greatest sustained success since joining the American in 2013. Under three different coaches, the Tigers have had five double-digit victory seasons, including each of the past two years under Ryan Silverfield, as well as a Cotton Bowl appearance under Mike Norvell to cap the 2019 season. They have not had a losing record since 2013. Memphis received $11 million from the American Conference in 2023-24, tops in the league it has been a member of since 2013 and also likely the most for a Group of 5 school. But as college sports continue to be reshaped and driven by who can find and spend the most money, perhaps toward an eventual consolidation, Memphis has tried to tap into its resources to find a new home. To this point, it hasn't happened.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lowe's CEO warns young workers to stay away from the corner office: ‘AI isn't going to fix a hole in your roof'
Despite fears of an AI-induced entry-level job bloodbath, Lowe's CEO Marvin Ellison reassures Gen Z there are opportunities to find jobs—as long as they are willing to give up dreams of corporate life: 'Stay close to the customers because you will always have employment opportunities to grow,' he said. Anxiety about an AI job bloodbath is everywhere. As generative-AI tools like ChatGPT advance at lightning speed, even high-skilled roles like software engineering appear to be at risk. But according to Lowe's CEO Marvin Ellison, the reality of AI's impact on the workforce is far more grounded. 'AI isn't going to fix a hole in your roof,' Ellison, chief executive of the home-improvement retail giant, said at Business Roundtable's CEO Workforce Forum earlier this month. 'It's not going to respond to an electrical issue in your home,' he said. 'It's not going to stop your water heater from leaking.' Particularly for Gen Z, who are facing an uphill battle thanks to slowed hiring among recent graduates, Ellison reassures them there are job opportunities—as long as you are willing to give up dreams of the corner office. 'When young people come to me and they desire to work in the corporate office, my advice to them is, Stay as close to the cash register as you can,' he said. 'Stay close to the customers because you will always have employment opportunities to grow.' And while his words may sound ironic considering how technology is the reason for self-checkout, Ellison is a believer that mastering the skills AI doesn't have is a wise move. Ellison didn't immediately respond to Fortune's request for comment. Ellison's comments come at a time when there's a fierce debate among business leaders about the impacts of AI, especially on young talent. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has warned the technology could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs, and Amazon recently announced it will soon cut its corporate workforce thanks to the technology. However, OpenAI chief operating officer Brad Lightcap is more optimistic. 'We look at the problem and opportunity of deploying AI into every company on earth, and we have yet to see any evidence that people are kind of wholesale replacing entry-level jobs,' Lightcap said on the Hard Fork podcast. Some business leaders agree one growing pathway to success is the skilled trade industry. After all, construction, utilities, as well as oil, gas, and mining are the fastest-growing industries for new grads, according to LinkedIn's 2025 Grad Guide. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said earlier this year electricians in particular are so desperately needed the U.S. could run out of them, thanks in part to growing demand and the deportation of skilled workers. 'I've even told members of the Trump team that we're going to run out of electricians, that we need to build out AI data centers,' Fink told an audience at CERAWeek, an S&P Global energy conference hosted in Houston. 'We just don't have enough.' According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, demand for plumbers (6%), roofers (6%), and electricians (11%) is expected to grow over the next decade—and each rate is faster than the national average of all occupations. However, a McKinsey report suggests the need for young people to pursue critical trade skills is even more dire due to the aging of existing skilled trade workers; in fact, hiring for critical skilled roles could be more than 20 times the projected annual increase in new jobs between 2022 and 2032. This story was originally featured on
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lowe's CEO says young workers should stay away from the corporate office and close to the cash register
Lowe's CEO Marvin Ellison says corporate jobs are more at risk from AI than front-line work. The home improvement exec said there is unmet demand for skilled trades and customer-facing jobs. "AI isn't going to fix a hole in your roof," he said at a Business Roundtable forum in DC. Artificial intelligence can do a growing number of tasks, but there's a lot it can't do. "AI isn't going to fix a hole in your roof," said Lowe's CEO Marvin Ellison. "It's not going to respond to an electrical issue in your home. It's not going to stop your water heater from leaking." Speaking Tuesday at Business Roundtable's CEO Workforce Forum in Washington, DC, Ellison highlighted the large unmet demand for skilled trades workers in the US. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated in April that there were nearly a quarter million job openings in construction and 381,000 in manufacturing. Whether on a construction site or in one of his 1,748 home improvement stores, Ellison said jobs working on the front lines will likely be some of the last to be disrupted by AI. "When young people come to me and they desire to work in the corporate office, my advice to them is: stay as close to the cash register as you can," he said. "Stay close to the customers, because you will always have employment opportunities to grow." Ellison's comments came within hours of Amazon CEO Andy Jassy posting a memo that said the tech giant would likely "reduce" its white-collar workforce in the coming years due to AI. He's the latest in a chorus of executives predicting significant workplace disruption from AI in areas like customer service, tech functions, and entry-level office work. The changes have led to more than a few younger workers shifting toward blue-collar work instead of the traditional debt-financed four-year undergraduate degree approach. Ellison highlighted one such opportunity for young workers at Lowe's: a program for Lowe's employees offers tuition-free education for completing a two- or four-year curriculum. He said that employees who complete the program sometimes go on to work for Lowe's customers. "It could be a general contractor, could be a builder, and we're perfectly OK with that," Ellison said. "It fills the need that is much greater." Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
18-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Lowe's CEO says young workers should stay away from the corporate office and close to the cash register
Artificial intelligence can do a growing number of tasks, but there's a lot it can't do. "AI isn't going to fix a hole in your roof," said Lowe's CEO Marvin Ellison. "It's not going to respond to an electrical issue in your home. It's not going to stop your water heater from leaking." Speaking Tuesday at Business Roundtable's CEO Workforce Forum in Washington, DC, Ellison highlighted the large unmet demand for skilled trades workers in the US. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated in April that there were nearly a quarter million job openings in construction and 381,000 in manufacturing. Whether on a construction site or in one of his 1,748 home improvement stores, Ellison said jobs working on the front lines will likely be some of the last to be disrupted by AI. "When young people come to me and they desire to work in the corporate office, my advice to them is: stay as close to the cash register as you can," he said. "Stay close to the customers, because you will always have employment opportunities to grow." Ellison's comments came within hours of Amazon CEO Andy Jassy posting a memo that said the tech giant would likely "reduce" its white-collar workforce in the coming years due to AI. He's the latest in a chorus of executives predicting significant workplace disruption from AI in areas like customer service, tech functions, and entry-level office work. The changes have led to more than a few younger workers shifting toward blue-collar work instead of the traditional debt-financed four-year undergraduate degree approach. Ellison highlighted one such opportunity for young workers at Lowe's: a program for Lowe's employees offers tuition-free education for completing a two- or four-year curriculum. He said that employees who complete the program sometimes go on to work for Lowe's customers. "It could be a general contractor, could be a builder, and we're perfectly OK with that," Ellison said. "It fills the need that is much greater."
