Headlines keep warning about layoffs and white-collar burnout, but there’s another workforce crisis quietly crippling the U.S.—and it’s not about office jobs.
Despite growing interest in trade work among Gen Z, Ford CEO Jim Farley says the U.S. is falling dangerously behind. In a November appearance on the “Office Hours: Business Edition” podcast, Farley didn’t just raise concerns—he issued a full-blown warning.
“We are in deep trouble when you compare us to China,” Farley said, pointing at the lack of skilled labor in America’s essential economy. “We are not talking about this enough.”
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According to Farley, over 1 million jobs are sitting empty across emergency services, trucking, plumbing, factory work, and the trades. And it’s not for lack of pay. At Ford alone, he said, “We had 5,000 openings. A bay with a lift and tools and no one to work in it… $120,000 a year, but it takes you five years to learn it.”
This isn’t just about mechanics. Farley sees it as a national security risk. “God forbid we ever get in a war—Google’s not going to be able to make the tanks and the planes,” he said. While software engineers and digital innovation grab headlines, the country’s ability to function in crisis depends on skilled trades—and right now, that bench is dangerously thin.
Farley, whose grandfather worked on the assembly line at Ford, has been vocal about rebuilding the pipeline for blue-collar workers. “Those hardworking jobs made our country what it is,” he said on the podcast. “We do not have trade schools. We are not investing in educating a next generation… of people like my grandfather who had nothing, who built a middle class life and a future for his family.”
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That conviction led Ford to become the first major automaker to ratify union agreements during recent labor negotiations—on both sides of the border. “I’m so proud of us,” Farley said. “We got rid of the lower tier, paid everyone the same. Now those people have a career at Ford like my grandfather.”
During the podcast, Farley also touched on how COVID exposed cracks in the wage system. “Many of those people said, ‘Mr. Farley, I work three jobs. Don’t expect me to be on time at Ford when I have two other jobs.'” Ford responded by eliminating its two-tier wage structure, giving workers a clearer path to financial stability—something Farley says is foundational to rebuilding the workforce.
