Ford CEO Jim Farley says Gen Z needs its own 'Smokey Bear' moment to counter AI paranoia and the 'jobs apocalypse' narrative that is shaping young workers' choices.
At Ford Pro Accelerate in Detroit, company officials argued that the bigger problem is not just artificial intelligence, but a pipeline that has pushed too many students toward college and away from mechanics, electricians, plumbers, technicians and welders. Ford's chief communications officer, Mark Truby, said his three Gen Z sons, ages 19 to 24, worry that AI could replace the jobs they might train for.
The numbers come first. The New York Fed put unemployment among recent college graduates at 5.7% in June, versus 4.1% for all workers. Stanford economists said in August that employment among workers ages 22 to 25 in highly AI-exposed jobs was about 19% below where it would have been if it had tracked less-exposed work, up from 15% a year earlier. They said the adjustment came mainly through reduced hiring of young workers rather than layoffs.
That connection is not settled. The Stanford researchers described their findings as descriptive patterns, not causal estimates. Harvard economist David Deming has pointed to remote work, while Apollo's Torsten Slok said the graduate unemployment gap began widening about six months before ChatGPT's release. A Ramp and Revelio Labs study found entry-level headcount at heavy AI spenders grew 12% over two years.
Ford is still using the data to make a larger case for the trades. An alliance formed by Ford, BlackRock, Google and Carhartt estimated that employers will need to fill about 1.7 million skilled-trades openings each year through 2035. Farley told the crowd that the country is now 'paying that price' for telling young people for decades that college was the only path to the American dream.
The company is broadening the message with the Ad Council, Home Depot, Dycom and The Wallace Foundation. Truby said the effort began with customers and Ford's commercial-truck and van business, as dealerships struggled to hire enough mechanics even when the wages were good.
Michelle Hillman, the Ad Council's chief campaign and program officer, said the campaign will eventually run across channels in donated media time and space and is now in a fact-finding mission.
The market has already voted on the value of skilled labor, even if the culture has been slower to catch up. Capital rewards clear rules, real productivity and work that keeps the physical economy moving. When Washington, schools and the broader corporate class keep selling a single route to success, the taxpayer and the next generation both end up paying for the mismatch.
