Camilla Jessen
Ford wants to clone its best mechanic.
Ford CEO Jim Farley says the company is struggling to fill around 5,000 open technical positions. According to him, the issue is not wages but a lack of sufficiently skilled candidates.
The shortage has become so severe that Ford openly admits it would like to “clone” its best mechanics, something Farley says is obviously impossible.
One rare exception
One mechanic already earning elite status is Ted Hummel, who works at a Ford facility in Kent, Ohio. According to The Wall Street Journal, Hummel earns about $160,000 a year.
His specialty is advanced gearbox systems, an area where Ford says expertise is increasingly rare.
Managers describe Hummel as the type of worker the company wishes it could replicate across its factories.
Ford’s willingness to pay such high wages is tied directly to productivity. A gearbox repair can take up to 10 hours for most technicians.
Hummel, however, is able to complete the same job in roughly half the time.
That efficiency saves the company significant money, making high salaries worthwhile. According to Ford, mechanics who can consistently deliver that level of performance could earn close to $1 million a year.
Paying top dollar
Ford says it is prepared to offer annual salaries starting at roughly $120,000 for the most talented mechanics, with top performers earning far more.
Yet despite the financial incentives, Farley says the candidates simply are not there.
Farley has previously warned that the issue goes beyond Ford. He believes the entire U.S. industrial sector faces a skills gap that threatens long-term competitiveness.
According to him, technical knowledge like Hummel’s cannot be replaced by automation alone.
Sources: The Wall Street Journal, Boosted
