Magnus
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- Jun 22, 2020
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Enormous factories are sprouting outside of this capital city. Now comes the hard part—finding people to work in them.
Manufacturing jobs are tough to fill around Columbus, which has one of Ohio’s lowest unemployment rates and a flourishing logistics industry that competes for the same employees. The region’s plants have thousands of open positions, a shortage that is causing some managers to join their workers on the production line.
U.S. manufacturers have long struggled to find all the employees they need. The coming wave of megafactories, aided by billions of dollars in public incentives, could push the shortage into a crisis, executives and industry officials say.
The anxiety is particularly acute in Central Ohio, where Intel INTC 1.30%increase; green up pointing triangle is building two semiconductor plants at a combined cost of more than $20 billion, and Honda and LG Energy Solution are constructing a $3.5 billion electric-vehicle battery plant. The companies aim to hire more than 5,000 workers between them, and local suppliers that will serve the factories likely will need thousands more.
“Workforce is the No. 1 problem anywhere we go in Ohio, and it’s more so in Central Ohio,” said Ryan Augsburger, president of the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association. “It’s going to get a lot worse with large companies like Intel.”
The U.S. is experiencing a factory-building boom as companies, burned by overstretched supply chains during the pandemic, reshore some of their operations. The Biden administration also has given priority to the nation’s semiconductor and EV industries, calling them matters of national security and setting aside billions of dollars in subsidies to aid their growth.
www.wsj.com
Good problem to have. We need more factory jobs.
Manufacturing jobs are tough to fill around Columbus, which has one of Ohio’s lowest unemployment rates and a flourishing logistics industry that competes for the same employees. The region’s plants have thousands of open positions, a shortage that is causing some managers to join their workers on the production line.
U.S. manufacturers have long struggled to find all the employees they need. The coming wave of megafactories, aided by billions of dollars in public incentives, could push the shortage into a crisis, executives and industry officials say.
The anxiety is particularly acute in Central Ohio, where Intel INTC 1.30%increase; green up pointing triangle is building two semiconductor plants at a combined cost of more than $20 billion, and Honda and LG Energy Solution are constructing a $3.5 billion electric-vehicle battery plant. The companies aim to hire more than 5,000 workers between them, and local suppliers that will serve the factories likely will need thousands more.
“Workforce is the No. 1 problem anywhere we go in Ohio, and it’s more so in Central Ohio,” said Ryan Augsburger, president of the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association. “It’s going to get a lot worse with large companies like Intel.”
The U.S. is experiencing a factory-building boom as companies, burned by overstretched supply chains during the pandemic, reshore some of their operations. The Biden administration also has given priority to the nation’s semiconductor and EV industries, calling them matters of national security and setting aside billions of dollars in subsidies to aid their growth.
The Megafactories Are Coming. Now the Hustle Is On to Find Workers
Semiconductor and EV plants in Central Ohio search for employees amid a manufacturing labor shortage; smaller factories brace for tougher competition.
www.wsj.com
Good problem to have. We need more factory jobs.
