The United States can’t actualize its moonshot AI goals if it’s lacking key workers to bolster the infrastructure to build the technology, according to Ford CEO Jim Farley.

With AI predicted to balloon to a $4.8 trillion market by 2033, Farley warned the U.S. has overlooked the labor needed to build and sustain data centers and manufacturing facilities. While President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs to revive factory jobs , there continues to be recruitment and retention problems in U.S. manufacturing.

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

Farley’s concern around staffing AI data centers and factories is part of what he identifies

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