“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity.”
This was the famous opening line of Charles Dickens’ novel, A Tale of Two Cities, but it could be said of America and the world 175 years after being published.
In a parochial way, it applies to the machining world I have inhabited for so many years.
Every week I talk to somebody who is frustrated, fraught with defeat, and ready to “hang it up.”
I also hear from someone, perhaps a bit less often, who is so swamped with orders he could work around the clock and not be able to keep up. The odd thing is that sometimes, both are happening in the same factory!
I had a call just last week from a bright fellow who is third generation in a family business. He started out in the screw machine world in the 1950s, but now he wants out of multi-spindles and would like to sell most of the machines that had been the foundation of his operation.
He wasn’t in despair. He is financially secure and has a thriving CNC machining operation.
“I just cannot find people to run the machines,” he said.
“Why not?” I asked.
“Nobody wants to learn what they believe is a dirty, oily, yesterday kind of job. The good guys have all retired,” he lamented.
I have heard this refrain a hundred times, and I would believe it if I didn’t talk to many customers who are thriving in the same business right now.
My conclusion is that the folks whose shops are in “the worst of times” have often made poor decisions over many years.
This is not to say that outsourcing to China isn’t partly to blame for the state of American machining businesses. The Chinese have used low wages, stolen intellectual property, and the lure of easy profits for big companies, which has hurt our manufacturing base.
But 2025 is a different time. President Trump’s tariffs on China (55% today), the rapidly declining birth rate there, and the perception that the Chinese are our enemy make this year the pivoting moment for China versus America.
China has hugely overbuilt. Some cities are almost vacant. But the worst thing for the country is its aging workforce.
China could change the negative tide with immigration from India, the Middle East or Africa, but that seems highly unlikely.
If China has peaked as a manufacturing power, will America rise up again as a manufacturing titan?
It goes back to the question of where the machining folks have gone and who will replace them.
I have wondered for many years why there are so few women in machining. Yes, it can be dirty, but so is processing chicken, farming, and janitorial work. I attribute this primarily to an educational apparatus that has discouraged women to consider factory jobs.
In recent years, men have also shied away, but with college expensive and the payback unknown, men are increasingly passing on college.
Working for the government no longer looks terribly appealing with the cutbacks.
Fast food is growing, but is Dunkin’ Donuts much of a career?
Healthcare is still growing, but much of the work is grueling and repetitive.
Manufacturing, with China faltering, is an open field. The big missing component is money for employees.
The traditional low comparative pay in manufacturing has baffled me. The opportunity is out there for owners and employers, so why not pay more. Significantly more!
And if the workers will be primarily Hispanic, recruit them vigorously. Management needs to speak Spanish, too.
There is another category to recruit—felons. People coming out of jail can make good employees. If they are losers, you will know it quickly.
Autistic people can also be another potential group to draw from.
Is it the best of times or the worst of times? It is your question to answer.
Just the other day, I spoke with the son of a shop owner looking at one of our older cam multi-spindles. His son told me they have no problem finding workers for cam screw machines—in fact, he has two people following him around right now who he’s training. It proves that when shops get it right, the workers are out there.
Question: What unconventional worker pools is your shop willing to consider?
5 Comments
It’s easy to say to shop owners “pay more”! Problem is, it’s supposed to be a for profit business and with
customers always getting tougher to find and the constant beat down of price, demands for shorter lead time, etc, where does the money come from to pay employees more?
Our aerospace machining facility has tried to utilize the felons that you have mentioned. We are called a “Second chance employer “. There are tax benefits, and if they live in the halfway house they are brought to work on time and picked up every day. I would not call it a success exactly, but I would not call it a failure either. There have been some people that do the best they can with whatever abilities they have been given. But if you don’t have the mindset to do machining work then you still won’t be all that successful. And some that may have the mindset aren’t ready to put their past behind them just yet. So, it may be a method to find workers but not without a ton of effort.
There have been job fairs, trade schools and recruitment at some other aerospace companies that were closing down. There was even a company that would bring people from Puerto Rico, arrange visas, housing, transportation to and from the shop. A handful of those guys are still here from that program from a few years ago.
Back in the day, we hired a few “helpers” to drive the lift, dump chips, clean up. If they showed promise they would get hired, if not bring in new ones. Our current corporate system has no stomach for accountability. It is a non-union shop and is completely conflict adverse. The non contributing employees are left to just hang around and irritate the contributors.
It has been proven to me over the last four decades of machinist management that if you are consistent and fair as an employer you will attract more and better employees. Pay them what they are worth and maybe a little more so that they won’t be tempted to look elsewhere. Machines and tools that function as they should, make for a much more pleasant and efficient environment as well. I had a fellow that was so appreciative and even more productive because a better light was installed inside of the CNC mill he was operating. But if you don’t cycle out the non contributing employees you will demoralize the entire workforce and have trouble keeping great employees. Finding new ones will be less of an issue. The vast majority of really good machinist already have a job.
Here is something to ask if you are in a position to hire skilled labor. When was the last time you were able to hire a really good qualified worker away from someone else? If you weren’t able to do it, why not?
Amen, brother.
K, a couple questions. What percentage of costs are for labor? If you had the people could you find more work. How much effort is spent prospecting for new customers?
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