Charlotte Business Leaders See Mixed Economic Outlook for 2026

Good morning, this is Charlotte Local Pulse for Thursday, December fourth, twenty twenty-five. We're starting with some important economic news from uptown this week. Leaders from some of Charlotte's biggest companies gathered for the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance's annual economic forecast, and they're painting a mixed picture for next year. Brian Moynihan from Bank of America, Gene Woods from Advocate Health, and Palmer Brown from Compass Group all weighed in on what's ahead. On the positive side, holiday shopping spending is up five to six percent compared to last year, which shows consumers are still opening their wallets. Banks are also predicting the economy will grow by two point four percent next year. But there are clouds on the horizon too. These leaders are concerned about immigration policy and how it might affect the workforce. Small businesses especially could feel the pinch if there are fewer workers available in the coming months. The CEOs also highlighted artificial intelligence as an opportunity for efficiency gains, though they're keeping a close eye on making sure humans stay in control of these new technologies. Speaking of business moves, Scout Motors made waves last month with their big headquarters announcement here in Charlotte. But there's a wrinkle in their plans. Even though they'll be making cars locally, they're going to have a tough time selling them to North Carolina consumers. That's because state law requires all car dealerships to be independently owned. Scout and other upstart automakers like Rivian can't operate their own showrooms here. These dealership laws have been on the books for decades, and Scout is hoping lawmakers might eventually relax these restrictions, but that could be an uphill battle. We also want to tell you about a significant lawsuit making headlines locally. CPI Security Systems, the Charlotte-based company, is suing an attorney named Michael Littlejohn who represented one of their former employees. The case involves a discrimination settlement, and CPI claims the attorney sent confidential information to people who shouldn't have had access to it in an attempt to pressure them into settling. They did settle with the employee, but they're taking legal action against the attorney for those tactics. Finally, there's been a lot of discussion about compensation in the corporate world. Atrium Health CEO Gene Woods is earning twenty-five point eight million dollars, which is raising some eyebrows around town. When you compare it to other Charlotte executives, his pay package is approaching what the heads of Wells Fargo and Bank of America earn, and it exceeds what the CEOs of Duke Energy, Lowes, and Nucor make. Atrium and Advocate Health point out that Woods oversees one of the largest healthcare systems in the country with one hundred sixty-two thousand employees and thirty-five billion dollars in annual revenue, which they say justifies the compensation. That's what's happening in This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.