Ford Motor Company says it has thousands of open jobs that pay six figures – and it still can’t find enough people to take them.
In an interview on NTD News, host Paul Greaney said Ford CEO Jim Farley recently thanked President Trump for tariffs that, in Farley’s view, helped “level the playing field” for American manufacturers.
But Greaney added that Farley also admitted a big problem: Ford has about 5,000 unfilled job openings that offer six-figure salaries.
To understand why, Greaney brought on Nicole Wolter, president of HM Manufacturing and a board member of the National Association of Manufacturers.
Wolter’s answer was blunt – and it makes clear this isn’t just a Ford problem.
Ford’s 5,000 Empty Six-Figure Jobs
Greaney told viewers that Farley’s comments came in the middle of what’s supposed to be a manufacturing renaissance.
Trump’s tariff agenda, he noted, was designed specifically to bring more industrial jobs back to the United States.
Yet right as those openings appear, companies say the workforce isn’t there.
Greaney called it “incredible” that one company alone could be struggling to fill thousands of jobs that pay into the six figures.
Wolter told him it’s not just credible – it’s normal now.
“It’s not just one, it’s many,” she said, explaining that her own company and others have “been struggling since the COVID era” to find enough skilled workers.
From her seat inside the National Association of Manufacturers, Wolter said she hears the same complaint across different sectors: there is demand for high-wage industrial labor, but not enough people willing and able to do it.
That mismatch – high pay, but low interest – is what worries people who care about the future of American manufacturing.
Why Manufacturing Doesn’t Look Like A Safe Bet
Asked “why” this is happening, Wolter didn’t blame just one thing.
She told Greaney that manufacturing “is not a sexy job,” and said that stigma has been building for decades.
According to Wolter, many of today’s students grew up hearing about factories closing, plants moving overseas, and layoffs hitting blue-collar communities.
She pointed back to the early 1980s and again to the early 2000s, when waves of offshoring made manufacturing feel like “a way of the past.”
In that environment, Wolter said, families started to see factory work as risky.
Young people worried that even if they did go into machining or production, they might get laid off when the next round of jobs went offshore.
Those old scars still shape decisions today.
So even when Ford or another major firm dangles a big salary, Wolter said there’s a mental barrier: many people just don’t see manufacturing as a stable, long-term path.
From a cultural standpoint, that makes sense – the narrative around these jobs has been negative for years.
The problem is, the jobs themselves never fully disappeared, and now they’re coming back faster than the talent pipeline can be rebuilt.
Skilled Work In An Automated World
Another reason Wolter gave Greaney is that modern manufacturing is more technical than many people realize.
She pointed out that factories now rely heavily on automation and robotics, but those systems still need human experts behind them.
“You actually need machinists to be able to run these types of automation and products and technology,” Wolter said.
In other words, robots haven’t replaced humans – they’ve raised the skill level required for the humans who remain.
Wolter said manufacturers are “struggling to find that,” especially when it comes to apprentices who are willing to go through years of training.
Because experienced people are in short supply, she said companies are dealing with poaching, where one firm lures skilled workers away from another with higher pay.
At the same time, Wolter said, some larger manufacturers have started buying smaller shops just to get access to their trained labor force.
That’s a sign of how tight the market is.
When companies are literally purchasing entire businesses as a way to acquire talent, it shows just how big the skills gap has become.
TikTok Versus The Machine Shop
Greaney pointed out that, in this economy, six-figure salaries should be a major draw.
He mentioned TV host Mike Rowe’s long-standing campaign to promote what he calls “dirty jobs,” especially now, in the age of AI and automation.
So are people finally waking up and looking for that kind of work?
Wolter told him the answer is still mostly no.
She said manufacturers like her are working closely with high schools and community colleges, trying to beef up manufacturing programs and show students the upside of these careers.
Even so, she said, “not everybody wants to do that. Not even with six figures.”
Why? Because the work is demanding, and because the internet offers easier-looking options.
Wolter told Greaney that when young people see how “super easy” it looks to get paid through the TikTok creator fund or other social media platforms, many would rather chase that than commit to a long, difficult training path on a shop floor.
She said she and her peers are even trying to turn that culture back on itself — by encouraging people to become “creators” about manufacturing, showcasing the parts they make and the machines they run.
It’s a clever idea: if you can’t beat TikTok, use TikTok to sell the trades.
But as Wolter admitted, “we’re still not there yet.”
It’s a reminder that this isn’t just a wage problem – it’s a status problem.
For a generation raised on screens, the idea of standing at a machine for hours, even for $100,000 a year, doesn’t automatically sound better than making videos from a bedroom.
Automation As A Lifeline – And A Warning
Greaney then asked the broader question: can these problems be fixed in time to support the manufacturing revival that Trump and others have promised?
Wolter said she does have hope – but not on a short timeline.
She told Greaney it’s going to take 10 to 15 years to really rebuild momentum, not one or two.
Part of the challenge, she said, is that it’s expensive for companies to train new workers and run apprenticeship programs.
She mentioned that Trump signed an executive order back in April aimed at getting more people into the manufacturing sphere, but that policies alone can’t flip the switch overnight.
In the meantime, Wolter said, manufacturers are leaning even harder into automation.
Because they “are not getting the people,” she said companies are using more robotics to handle tasks that once required a human, right down to a robotic arm doing things like removing a set screw from a tool inside a machine.
Wolter warned that manufacturers have to be “very cognizant” about not taking away every job, but she was honest: if workers don’t show up, companies “do have to use this type of technology to keep manufacturing going.”
That’s the uncomfortable loop: a lack of people pushes firms toward automation, and more automation can make outsiders think there’s no future for human workers, which then keeps fewer people from entering the field.
If that cycle isn’t broken, America risks having more factories, more reshoring, and fewer citizens actually doing the work.
Policy, Immigration, And The Long Road Back
Greaney also pressed Wolter on the Trump administration’s immigration policy and how it affects manufacturers.
She said the impact depends heavily on the sector.
For food and beverage, she suggested, immigration limits can “hurt it a little bit.”
But in her own world – aerospace and defense – she said it doesn’t really change the situation, because those jobs must go to U.S. citizens to meet Department of Defense requirements.
Wolter’s bigger focus was on tariffs and reshoring.
She told Greaney that tariffs have helped bring some production back, and that manufacturers are seeing more “reshoring and getting people excited about manufacturing.”
Her message, though, was that excitement isn’t enough.
Manufacturers, she said, have to “go out and promote it as much as we can,” partnering with schools, building apprenticeship pipelines, and convincing people that these jobs aren’t just stable – they’re respectable and rewarding.
From a broader perspective, her comments make something clear.
You can’t rebuild American manufacturing with policy alone.
You need a cultural shift that says making things is just as honorable – and just as “cool” – as coding an app or going viral on social media.
Until that happens, Ford’s 5,000 open six-figure jobs may be a preview of what’s coming for the rest of the industrial economy: plenty of opportunity on paper, and not nearly enough people willing to take it.
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Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, John developed a love for the great outdoors early on. With years of experience as a wilderness guide, he’s navigated rugged terrains and unpredictable weather patterns. John is also an avid hunter and fisherman who believes in sustainable living. His focus on practical survival skills, from building shelters to purifying water, reflects his passion for preparedness. When he’s not out in the wild, you can find him sharing his knowledge through writing, hoping to inspire others to embrace self-reliance.
