The United States can\u2019t actualize its moonshot AI goals if it\u2019s lacking key workers to bolster the infrastructure to build the technology, according to Ford CEO Jim Farley.<\/p>\n
With AI predicted to balloon to a $4.8 trillion market<\/a> by 2033, Farley warned the U.S. has overlooked the labor needed to build and sustain data centers and manufacturing facilities. While President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs to revive factory jobs<\/a>, there continues to be recruitment and retention problems in U.S. manufacturing.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the intent is there, but there\u2019s nothing to backfill the ambition,\u201d Farley told Axios<\/a> in September 2025. \u201cHow can we reshore all this stuff if we don\u2019t have people to work there?\u201d<\/p>\n Farley\u2019s concern about staffing AI data centers and factories is part of what he identifies as a crisis affecting the \u201cessential economy<\/a>\u201d of blue-collar workers making up $12 trillion in U.S. GDP<\/a>, per the Aspen Institute. The Ford CEO has said that AI could wipe out half of white-collar jobs<\/a>, while creating mass demand for skilled trades.<\/p>\n But the labor force to fill this growing clamor for workers isn\u2019t there, Farley said. The country is short 600,000 factory workers and 500,000 construction workers right now, and will need 400,000 auto technicians over the next three years, he wrote in a LinkedIn post<\/a> in June 2025.<\/p>\n Analysts have attributed this shortage<\/a> to an aging domestic workforce, as well as restrictive immigration policies limiting population growth. Farley blames a lack of awareness surrounding the shortage.<\/p>\n For its part, Ford announced last month it would scrap the rollout<\/a> of some of its larger EV models and repurpose a Kentucky battery factory to manufacture batteries for data centers and large-scale industrial customers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all sense that America can do better than we are doing,\u201d Farley said at the Aspen Ideas Festival<\/a> last June. \u201cWe need a new mindset, one that recognizes the success, the importance of this essential economy and the importance to our vibrancy and sustainability as a country.\u201d<\/p>\n AI infrastructure labor shortage<\/p>\n This labor shortage is already being felt in the AI sector. Dame Dawn Childs, CEO of Pure Data Centres Group, a U.K.-based data center operator, said while data center demand is booming, a shortage of construction workers is hampering expansion plans.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s just not enough skilled construction workers to go around,\u201d she told the BBC<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n In addition, data centers are also struggling to carry out specialized functions because of shortages in skilled labor. Uptime Institute, IT service management firm, found in a 2020 survey<\/a> of data center operators that half were experiencing challenges finding candidates for open positions, compared to 38% in 2018. An April 2025 Deloitte<\/a> report<\/a> found this problem has persisted, with 51% of 120 surveyed U.S.-based power company and data center executives saying a shortage of data center related skilled labor was a \u201ccore challenge.\u201d More than 60% of respondents said it was their top challenge.<\/p>\n The scarcity is beginning to hit even the largest tech companies. Oracle<\/a> has delayed the completion dates of some of the data centers its developing for OpenAI from 2027 to 2028 due to labor shortages, as well as a lack of materials, Bloomberg reported<\/a> in December, citing anonymous sources. Meanwhile, demand for computational data centers continues to skyrocket, projected to require $6.7 trillion<\/a> in global capital expenditure between now and 2030, according to McKinsey<\/a>. Large cloud service providers called hyperscalers are expected to spend $300 billion in 2025 alone.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the surface, this looks like a people problem, and most are,\u201d Farley told Axios. \u201cBut it\u2019s actually not that simple. It\u2019s an awareness problem. It\u2019s a societal problem.\u201d<\/p>\n Farley said solving the labor shortage will also require policy changes. He has advocated for increased investment in vocational training and apprenticeship opportunities, as well as pro-trade policies and capacity-building regulatory reform.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we are successful\u2014when we are successful\u2014we\u2019ll take on bigger, higher-class problems,\u201d he said. \u201cRight now, the problems we\u2019re trying to solve are pretty practical. I need 6,000 technicians in my dealerships on Monday morning.\u201d<\/p>\n