Neil Murray, the JLL executive responsible for more than 88,000 facilities management workers, has insisted that automation will not shrink his division, even as the company’s own research points to a shift from labour towards technology.
Murray, who leads Real Estate Management Services at the commercial property giant, said artificial intelligence would create “better jobs, more impactful jobs, more human-centric jobs” while taking over work that people did not enjoy.
“The notion that AI will somehow reduce the number of people we have serving this industry is just not right,” he said.
JLL has not disclosed standalone staffing figures for Murray’s division. The company said its headcount was “stable” and expected to remain flat or grow only modestly in 2027, arguing that stability could still represent growth in productivity and output.
“Stability does not equate to stagnation,” a JLL spokesperson said. “In an environment where AI is genuinely improving individual productivity, holding headcount flat while increasing output is actually a meaningful result.”
Facilities management budgets shift towards technology
The findings in JLL’s 2026 Global State of Facilities Management Report, based on 1,321 organisations across 15 countries, suggest that employers are preparing to reduce their reliance on labour-based models.
Some 89% of respondents said facilities management budgets would move from labour towards technology and automation. Meanwhile, 87% expected outsourcing contracts to switch from labour-based arrangements to outcome-based pricing by 2030.
Under traditional contracts, providers typically charge for the hours worked and the staff deployed. Outcome-based agreements instead link payment to results such as uninterrupted operations, completed work orders or lower energy use, making staff time a direct cost rather than a source of revenue.
Murray rejected the idea that humanoid robots would soon replace engineers, saying: “Humanoid robots doing engineering work are a long way off.”
But JLL’s report forecasts that the use of robotics by clients will almost double, from 37% currently to 71% by 2030. The expected growth is in purpose-built machines such as autonomous cleaning equipment, robotic lawnmowers and remote security systems, rather than humanoid robots.
Those technologies could affect cleaning, security and access-control roles without needing to replace specialist heating, ventilation and air-conditioning engineers.
Murray also pointed to shortages of skilled tradespeople, with 68% of organisations reporting that vacancies in those roles had disrupted operations during the past year. The report said the wider economy would need an estimated 1.7 million skilled-trades workers each year through 2035, while almost a quarter of the existing workforce was aged 55 or over.
“The trades have probably been out of vogue for a generation,” Murray said. “Ironically, with AI, people are seeing the value of those skilled trades now… I do see a golden age for trades.”
However, research by the Ad Council and Ford Motor Company found that only 9% of high-school students were actively considering a career in the trades, underlining the challenge facing employers as technology reshapes facilities management.
