Ford's Farley: Blue-collar labor crunch could stall AI data centers and U.S. reshoring
Ford CEO Jim Farley warns that a shortage of blue-collar workers to build and operate AI data centers and manufacturing facilities risks derailing AI ambitions and reshoring, noting current gaps of about 600,000 factory workers and 500,000 construction workers, plus a need for 400,000 auto technicians in three years; experts cite an aging workforce, immigration policy limits, and low awareness of the shortage, and call for vocational training and policy reforms as demand for AI infrastructure surges.