12/02/2025
Ford CEO Jim Farley has revealed a crisis crippling the U.S. economy: there are over 1 million vacant jobs in essential trades like mechanics, plumbing, and factory work, with some offering six-figure salaries. 'We are in deep trouble,' Farley stated, calling it a national security issue. At Ford alone, there are 5,000 openings for jobs paying $120,000 a year, but a severe shortage of trained workers to fill them. Farley argues that for decades, America has failed to invest in trade schools and has devalued the blue-collar work that built the country's middle class. While Gen Z shows interest in these careers, the pathways to get there are broken. It's a national wake-up call: the jobs are there, the pay is there, but the workers are not.
