Ford CEO Jim Farley flags lack of skilled workers in America, says 5,000 six-figure salary jobs unfilled — here’s why

Ford Motor Corporation President and CEO Jim Farley said workers at the automaker’s manufacturing facilities were raising warning flags that “none of the young people want to work here.” He said this is an industry-wide problem because of the shortage of trained and skilled manual labor in the United States, Fortune reported.

Speaking on the Office Hours: Business Edition podcast hosted by Monica Langley, the automotive executive said Ford has about 5,000 mechanic jobs with high six-figure salaries and no buyers in the U.S. due to a shortage of skilled workers.

“These mechanical positions provide a salary of $1,20,000,” he said. According to the report, this amount is close to double the salary of the average American worker.

Jim Farley says: ‘We’re in trouble in this country’

Ford also warned that the problem of a lack of skilled labor is an unsolvable one.

“We are in trouble in our country. We don’t talk about it enough. We have over a million shortages in critical jobs, emergency services, trucking, factory workers, plumbers, electricians, tradesmen. This is a very serious thing,” he said.

Mentioning his grandfather, who was one of 389 employees who worked on Ford’s flagship Model T, the businessman emphasized that commercial jobs like the one offered by Ford “make our country what it is” and provide a good livelihood for American workers.

Salaries have increased, so why are jobs vacant?

On wages, Farley said Ford eliminated the lowest-tier wage scale in its 2023 deal with the United Automotive Workers Union and agreed to give all workers a 25 percent pay increase over four years. However, he noted that increasing salaries does not mean that vacant positions are filled faster.

“Part of the problem of shortages in manufacturing jobs is the lack of education and training. For example, it takes at least five years to learn how to remove a diesel engine from a Ford Super Duty truck. The current system does not meet the standard,” he said.

Farley also noted the lack of investment in training for these types of jobs and the lack of trade schools to provide training. “We don’t have trade schools. We’re not investing in educating the next generation of people like my grandfather, who had nothing and were building a middle-class life and a future for their family,” he felt.

More than 4 lakh manufacturing jobs remain unfilled in US

Citing data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Fortune report noted that there are over 4,00,000 unfilled manufacturing jobs in the US by August 2025 even though the unemployment rate in the country is 4.3%.

It also cited a 2024 study by the Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte in the US, which found that more than 100 manufacturing companies said their biggest challenge was recruiting and retaining workers.

But it’s not all gloom. Faced with unemployment, Generation Z is turning away from the college-to-corporate job path and instead attending trade schools to avoid student loans and find relatively lucrative jobs. The report stated that data from the National Student Clearinghouse showed that enrollment in vocational schools in the United States increased by 16% annually.