CEO of Ford Company - Founded by Nazi Henry Ford - Says America in Trouble

Ford CEO warns America is ‘in trouble.’ Car giant has 5,000 mechanic jobs paying $120K/year unfilled. Why it’s a problem
Jing Pan
Wed, November 19, 2025 at 2:59 PM GMT+2·8 min read



Headlines about the U.S. job market haven’t exactly been encouraging in 2025. Wage growth has cooled, big-tech layoffs keep surfacing and worries about a slowdown persist. But according to Ford CEO Jim Farley, there’s another side of the labor market that rarely makes the front page: high-paying jobs that are still out there — and going unfilled.

In a recent appearance on the Office Hours: Business Edition podcast, Farley recalled how his grandfather managed to build a “middle class life and a future for his family” through a blue-collar job at Ford — and insisted that similar opportunities still exist today.

“Those jobs are out there: mechanics in a Ford dealership. As of this morning, we had 5,000 openings. A bay with a lift and tools and no one to work in it,” Farley said. “$120,000 a job a year, but it takes you five years to learn it. Take a diesel out of a Superduty — it takes a lot of skill. You need to know what you're doing.”

It’s a striking contrast to the broader earnings picture. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median weekly earning for full-time U.S. workers in Q2 2025 was $1,196 — about $62,192 a year. Farley’s numbers suggest that thousands of roles pay nearly double that figure.

So why aren’t workers flocking to these jobs?

Farley points to a systemic shortage of training and education for skilled trades.

“We have over a million openings in critical jobs — emergency services, trucking, factory workers, plumbers, electricians and tradesmen. It's a very serious thing. We do not have trade schools. We are not investing in educating a next generation of people like my grandfather who had nothing, who built a middle-class life and a future for his family,” he said.

Farley’s grandfather was the 389th employee hired at Ford. Today, the company’s workforce stands at roughly 180,000. Yet Farley argues that the pipeline feeding those hands-on roles has eroded — and that the consequences go far beyond economics.

“God forbid we ever get in a war, Google's not going to be able to make the tanks and the planes. So, this is a self-defense for our country issue,” he said.

It’s not an abstract point: Ford famously produced thousands of tanks and other military vehicles for Allied forces during World War II. Farley’s concern is that America may no longer have enough skilled workers to do the same today.

“We are in trouble in our country,” he said bluntly.

Still, there are signs of a shift. Reports suggest a growing number of young Americans are opting for trade careers instead of pursuing traditional college degrees. Enrollment in trade schools rose 4.9% between 2020 and 2023, according to Validated Insights. Meanwhile, U.S. college enrollment fell by roughly 1.4 million students between 2012 and 2024, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Farley’s concerns come at a time when many Americans are already feeling financially stretched. The cost of living has continued to climb and surveys regularly show that more and more Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. That leaves little room for unexpected expenses, let alone long-term financial planning.

And while skilled trades can offer the potential for strong earnings, not everyone has the training — or the time — to pursue those paths. For many workers, the challenge isn’t just finding a job, but finding ways to build additional breathing room in an economy where day-to-day costs keep rising.

Asked AI if Henry Ford was a Nazi:

Henry Ford was not a Nazi, but he held anti-Semitic views that were admired by Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders. His newspaper, The Dearborn Independent, published articles promoting conspiracy theories about Jews, which contributed to the spread of anti-Semitism in the United States and influenced Nazi ideology.