Ford CEO warns there’s not enough blue-collar workers to build AI data centers

President Trump is pushing to bring major industries back to the U.S. and make the country an AI powerhouse – but there aren’t enough blue-collar workers to build the necessary data centers, Ford CEO Jim Farley warned.

Amid concern that AI will make many white-collar jobs obsolete, the Trump administration has been overlooking the “essential economy” — industries like construction, maintenance and skilled trades —Farley told Axios on Monday.

Building up American factories, supply chains and data centers is an admirable goal, but it won’t happen without big investment in skilled electricians, construction workers and other blue-collar trades, the exec added.

“I think the intent is there, but there’s nothing to backfill the ambition,” Farley said. “How can we reshore all this stuff if we don’t have people to work there?”

To put a spotlight on the issue, Farley hosted a first-of-its-kind summit on Tuesday in Detroit called “Accelerate the Essential Economy.”

Attendees were scheduled to include big names like U.S. Steel’s David Burritt, AT&T CEO John Stankey, FedEx’s Raj Subramaniam, U-Haul’s Joe Shoen, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Roger Penske.

White-collar productivity spiked 28% in the eight years ending in 2023 — “led by things like software, cloud services and consulting” — according to a study by the Aspen Institute.

The value of the AI market is expected to increase 25-fold — to nearly $5 trillion — by 2033, according to U.N. Trade & Development.

However, blue-collar sectors aren’t keeping pace.

In a recent blog post, Farley estimated the U.S. needs 600,000 more manufacturing workers, 500,000 more construction workers and 400,000 automotive technicians. 

“On the surface, this looks like a people problem, and most are. But it’s actually not that simple. It’s an awareness problem. It’s a societal problem,” the exec said.

“If I were to take the typical American family and say, ‘Would you rather your kid be a software programmer making $170,000 or be an HVAC specialist to make $97,000, which one would you prefer?’ I would say many, many Americans would prefer the software engineer.”

He called on the Trump administration to support faster permitting, regulatory reform and more funding for technical and vocational training and incentives for apprenticeship programs.

“If we are successful – when we are successful – we’ll take on bigger, higher-class problems,” Farley said.

“Right now, the problems we’re trying to solve are pretty practical,” he added. “I need 6,000 technicians in my dealerships on Monday morning.”