The U.S. Workforce Shortage: Why Manufacturing Faces an Uphill Battle

The U.S. Workforce Shortage: Why Manufacturing Faces an Uphill Battle

When supply chain experts talk about the lack of a highly skilled workforce in the U.S., this is exactly what we mean. Domestic manufacturing isn’t new, but it has been on a steady decline for decades. Thanks to globalization, we've shifted away from having a robust, skilled workforce ready to take on factory jobs—especially the manual ones.

Take Louis Vuitton, for example. Six years ago, they opened a manufacturing facility in the U.S. to produce their high-end bags. However, they faced major difficulties with the quality of workmanship. The reason? Their U.S.-based production workers lacked the skills needed to meet the company's high standards, particularly in leatherwork. It turns out, the quality was so poor that they were damaging up to 40% of their leather hides.

What’s even crazier? Factory supervisors allegedly allowed defects to be covered up, which raises the question about the true standards behind designer products we often see marketed as perfect.

Here's the truth: Skilled manufacturing labor doesn't just show up. It takes years of training to reach the level of precision that companies like Louis Vuitton demand. And if we really wanted to bring domestic manufacturing back on a large scale, it would take at least a decade—not just to build the factories, which costs millions of dollars, but to train a workforce capable of hitting those high standards. The training curve alone would be a challenge.

So, while there’s a lot of talk about reshoring and rebuilding the American manufacturing sector, we’ve got to be honest about the skills gap that stands in the way. It’s a long road ahead if we want to compete globally at the highest level.