Ford’s CEO, Jim Farley, has revealed that the American automotive giant is facing a shortage of skilled technical workers, with 5000 high-paying mechanic positions left unfilled.
In an interview on the podcast “Office Hours: Business Edition,” Farley mentioned that despite the annual salary reaching up to $120,000, Ford is struggling to find suitable candidates for these 5000 mechanic positions.
The $120,000 annual salary is approximately double the median income of American workers. Farley emphasized that this situation is not unique to Ford and serves as a warning for the United States as a whole.
The challenges in recruiting for training-intensive and physically demanding positions in the automotive industry reflect a larger shortage of such labor across the nation.
“We are facing a crisis as a country. We are not discussing this issue enough,” Farley told host Monica Langley. “We have over a million critical job vacancies, including in emergency services, truck transportation, factory workers, plumbers, electricians, and various skilled trades. This is a very serious issue.”
President Trump’s economic agenda focused on revitalizing manufacturing, but there remains a gap between the number of vacant factory positions and job seekers.
According to preliminary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of August, there were over 400,000 vacant positions in the manufacturing sector. A 2024 study jointly released by the Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte found that over half of the 200 surveyed manufacturing companies reported recruitment and retention of employees as their top challenges.
Farley attributed the shortage of manufacturing positions partly to a lack of education and training. He illustrated that it takes at least five years for a worker to learn how to dismantle a diesel engine from Ford’s Super Duty truck and pointed out that the current training system falls short of standards.
“We do not have vocational schools,” he said. “We are not investing in nurturing the next generation like my grandfather, who started from scratch, built a middle-class life, and created a bright future for his family.”
Farley’s grandfather was involved in the development of Ford’s flagship Model T car and was the company’s 389th employee.
According to a previous report from Fortune magazine, there was a 16% increase in vocational school enrollment in 2024, reaching the highest level since the National Student Clearinghouse began tracking data in 2018.
However, a study by the job platform Ladders revealed that most high-paying positions with salaries exceeding $200,000 still require higher education.