• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechMost Powerful Women

IBM CEO Makes Case for ‘New Collar’ Jobs in Open Letter to Donald Trump

Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 15, 2016, 3:52 PM ET
Key Participants At Fortune's Annual Most Powerful Women Event
Virginia "Ginni" Rometty, chief executive officer and president of International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), smiles during the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in Dana Point, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016. The summit gathers the preeminent women in businessalong with select leaders in government, philanthropy, education and the artsfor wide-ranging conversations and features one-on-one interviews, panel discussions, interactive breakout sessions and high-level networking. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesPhotograph by Patrick T. Fallon—Bloomberg via Getty Images

In an open letter to President Elect Donald Trump, IBM chief executive Ginni Rometty outlined several bi-partisan steps she thinks the new administration could employ to help create jobs.

Up to a third of the employees at some of IBM’s (IBM) corporate centers do not have college degrees, Rometty noted, adding the company needs to hire across developing areas, such as cybersecurity, data science, and artificial intelligence. These are what Rometty characterized as “new collar” jobs, roles that require defined skills but not necessarily two- or four-year college degrees. IBM, has cut thousands of jobs over all over the past few years, in what it has called a realignment around new opportunities.

Rometty suggested the federal government could improve health insurance programs by applying data analytics to cut Medicare fraud and easing secure data transfers of healthcare data between authorized providers. The government could also wield its purchasing power to lower the cost of prescription drugs and patient care, she added. (IBM is in the data analytics and security business.)

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter

Rometty also noted that Trump’s reform proposal could “free up capital that companies of all sizes can reinvest in their U.S. operations, training and education programs for their employees, and research and development programs.’

She said IBM supported efforts of the new administration to pass tax reform early next year.

For more on Ginni Rometty, watch:

Rometty leads one of the country’s oldest and most legendary business giants—albeit one that has been challenged of late by younger tech companies in the cloud computing sector. But Rometty has IBM pushing hard in artificial intelligence, cloud, and mobile. With nearly 380,000 employees worldwide, IBM (IBM) remains the largest tech company in the United States.

Full text of the letter is below:

News of Rometty’s letter was first reported by CNBC. An IBM spokesperson said that nine years ago, Rometty’s predecessor Sam Palmisano reached out in a similar manner to then-President-elect Barack Obama.

Note: This story was updated to reflect that IBM has cut tens of thousands of jobs over the last few years.

About the Author
Barb Darrow
By Barb Darrow
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Chess master and co-founder of Chess.com, Danny Rensch
SuccessEntrepreneurs
Chess.com cofounder says it took a pinch of delusion to bring the traditional game online—and it’s a ‘requirement for every successful entrepreneur’
By Emma BurleighDecember 14, 2025
2 hours ago
JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon says AI will eliminate jobs—and that soft skills will be more important than ever.
Future of WorkTech
Jamie Dimon says soft skills like emotional intelligence and communication are vital as AI eliminates roles
By Nino PaoliDecember 14, 2025
4 hours ago
AIchief executive officer (CEO)
Microsoft AI boss Suleyman opens up about his peers and calls Elon Musk a ‘bulldozer’ with ‘superhuman capabilities to bend reality to his will’
By Jason MaDecember 13, 2025
14 hours ago
InvestingStock
There have been head fakes before, but this time may be different as the latest stock rotation out of AI is just getting started, analysts say
By Jason MaDecember 13, 2025
20 hours ago
Politicsdavid sacks
Can there be competency without conflict in Washington?
By Alyson ShontellDecember 13, 2025
20 hours ago
InnovationRobots
Even in Silicon Valley, skepticism looms over robots, while ‘China has certainly a lot more momentum on humanoids’
By Matt O'Brien and The Associated PressDecember 13, 2025
22 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Tariffs are taxes and they were used to finance the federal government until the 1913 income tax. A top economist breaks it down
By Kent JonesDecember 12, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Apple cofounder Ronald Wayne sold his 10% stake for $800 in 1976—today it’d be worth up to $400 billion
By Preston ForeDecember 12, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
40% of Stanford undergrads receive disability accommodations—but it’s become a college-wide phenomenon as Gen Z try to succeed in the current climate
By Preston ForeDecember 12, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
The Fed just ‘Trump-proofed’ itself with a unanimous move to preempt a potential leadership shake-up
By Jason MaDecember 12, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Apple CEO Tim Cook out-earns the average American’s salary in just 7 hours—to put that into context, he could buy a new $439,000 home in just 2 days
By Emma BurleighDecember 12, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Uncategorized
Transforming customer support through intelligent AI operations
By Lauren ChomiukNovember 26, 2025
18 days ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.