Ford CEO says there's 5,000 open mechanic jobs all with 6-figure salaries at the company
Published on Nov 17, 2025 at 7:42 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Nov 17, 2025 at 7:42 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Claire Reid
Ford CEO Jim Farley has said there are 5,000 mechanic jobs open at the carmaker, all offering six-figure salaries.
Farley recently appeared on an episode of the Office Hours: Business Edition podcast, where he said the US was ‘in trouble’ due to its lack of skilled tradespeople.
The CEO said Ford had been unable to fill around 5,000 roles despite offering an impressive salary.
He went on to say that it wasn’t just the automotive industry that had been hit by a shortage of skilled workers.
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The mechanic roles at Ford come with an attractive salary
Jim Farley became CEO of Ford back in 2020 and has a long history with the carmaker, initially joining the company back in 2007.
However, his family connection to the company goes back a lot further.
Farley says he was inspired to work for Ford by his grandfather, who had started to work at Henry Ford’s River Rouge Plant all the way back in 1918.
As you might have guessed, Farley is a big-time car guy, but he’s recently issued a warning for the industry.
Speaking to host Monica Langley on the Office Hours: Business Edition podcast, he said there was a shortage of skilled manual labor workers and highlighted a whopping 5,000 open mechanic roles at Ford.
Farley went on to say that the Ford was struggling to fill roles, despite the fact that the jobs came with an impressive $120,000 a-year salary, almost double the median salary in the US.
“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,” Farley said.
He also claimed that it wasn’t just the automotive industry that had taken a hit when it came to finding workers.
“We are in trouble in our country. We are not talking about this enough,” he continued.
“We have over a million openings in critical jobs, emergency services, trucking, factory workers, plumbers, electricians, and tradesmen. It’s a very serious thing.”
It’s not the first time the Ford CEO Jim Farley has issued a warning
This isn’t the first time the Ford CEO has given a warning about the state of the American automotive industry.
Speaking at an event in Colorado earlier this year, he said that Chinese-made EVs were benefiting from ‘far superior’ technology and warned that Ford ‘does not have a future’ unless it can compete with China.
“It’s the most humbling thing I’ve ever seen,” Farley was quoted as saying.
“Seventy percent of all electric vehicles are made in China.”
“We are in a global competition with China…and if we lose this, then we do not have a future at Ford.”
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Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Claire covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on cars, technology, planes, cryptocurrency, and luxury.
