A skilled workforce continues to be a necessity for increased U.S. reshoring and foreign direct investment (FDI). As I mentioned in my November 2025 column, the skilled workforce shortage has been a choke-point for scaling reindustrialization efforts. Although availability has been a capacity constraint for decades, we are beginning to see a shift as technology fueled reshoring efforts energize a skilled workforce reset.
The biggest barrier to domestic sourcing remains cost. Manufacturing costs in the United States are typically 10 to 20 percent higher than in other developed countries and 50 to 60 percent higher than in China.
New technologies that overcome labor shortages and offset higher U.S. wages are helping to close the cost gap and reshore more manufacturing to the America. U.S. wages are two to five times as high as in the countries the United States reshores from, so, to be globally competitive, America needs to update, modernize and automate as it is reshoring.
Appealing work culture
A 2025 Deloitte study found that manufacturers think smart manufacturing will fuel competitiveness over the next three years, improving production and capacity and requiring a highly-skilled workforce. The Reshoring Initiative’s data concurs, finding that reshoring and FDI continue to add more high-tech jobs than low-tech jobs. In 2024, 88 percent of job announcements were in high or medium-high tech products, rising to an all-time record of 90 percent in 2025.
High-tech manufacturing facilities drive efficiency, boost global competitiveness and create high-tech jobs that offer better wages and benefits. A win-win for businesses and workers.
A smarter, tech-oriented and collaborative environment can foster a workforce culture that appeals to younger workers, augmenting workforce recruitment and retention efforts. A recent study found that 48 percent of GenZ respondents, the demographic cohort born between 1997 to 2012, were “excited” or “optimistic” about the impact of automation on manufacturing.
GenZ views automation and new technologies as job security enhancements that supplement their capabilities, not as job replacement threats. Younger workers have been surrounded by technology from an early age and can bring an informed perspective to automation and technology integration.
Meeting the challenge
Companies are meeting the challenge with more technical training for roles like maintenance technician, robotics programmer, data specialist and process engineer. Companies must clearly define roles to ensure workforce alignment with learning pathways for workforce readiness.
In 2025, global construction and mining equipment behemoth Caterpillar announced a five-year, $100 million workforce pledge. The pledge is part of the company’s 2025 centennial celebration. The aim is to grow interest in advanced manufacturing careers and prepare U.S workers for future quality jobs and industry-wide innovation.
The GE Aerospace Foundation’s newly launched workforce program aims to bolster the number of high-skilled manufacturing workers by 10,000. The $30 million commitment over five years is designed to assist local programs purchase new equipment, hire new instructors, expand curricula and reduce financial obstacles for students.
Calculating automation impact
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is the best metric to use for comparative analysis. The Reshoring Initiative’s TCO Estimator is a free online tool that helps companies account for all relevant factors to compare the true total cost of domestic versus offshore sourcing and siting.
Automation’s biggest impact is on labor, but the U.S.-versus-offshore comparison includes not only labor, but also the indirect labor-related costs, overhead expenses and materials associated with manufacturing. In a case where the offshore FOB (free on board) price is 20 percent lower, a two-year payback on automation is very unlikely based on price. But calculating based on a TCO difference of just five percent, the United States has a much better chance for a fast payback on automation. Integrating automation into a reshoring project can help companies bridge or completely close the cost gap between offshore and domestic operations.
Click here to access the full list of reshoring resources offered by the Reshoring Initiative. For help, contact me at 847-867-1144 or harry.moser@ reshorenow.org.
Have you reshored a metal component or product? Apply for the National Metalworking Reshoring Award. The 2026 winner will be introduced at IMTS 2026.
