Ford CEO Mike Rowe warns of a production crisis amid the Chinese threat

If American manufacturers As they struggle to fill hundreds of thousands of open jobs, China is doubling down on its bid to become the world’s workplace, and industry experts say the stakes couldn’t be higher.

“If I had one of those big red bells at a fire station, I would hit it with a hammer. I would sound the alarm. This is it,” Mike Rowe, CEO of the mikeroweWorks Foundation, warned Sunday on “One Nation with Brian Kilmeade.”

Rowe warned of what he sees as an existential threat to the U.S. industrial base, pointing to a growing gap between open jobs in the skilled trades and the number of workers entering those sectors.

Ford CEO Jim Farley echoed these concerns, warning that the US is “in a war for production” as China rapidly expands its industrial capacity.

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“We need about 400,000 people,” Farley said.

“This morning at Fordwe had 6,000 stalls open with no mechanics to fix our vehicles.”

The jobs are becoming more complex and require more technical skills and innovation, he added — a challenge that a large company like Ford can likely overcome. But serious problems remain for smaller companies.

“The plumber and electrician who possesses our superduty. What are they going to do if they don’t have the resources at Ford? They can barely get through the day with a lot of red tape,” he says.

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“It’s very difficult for them to find the next generation, as Mike said, and we need to help them. Companies like Ford need to get help. We have a lot more work to do as an entire industry.”

But while American companies struggle to find workers, Farley says, China isn’t waiting.

During the pandemic, he noted, China made “huge leaps” in production, emerging from the COVID-19 crisis stronger and more determined to dominate global manufacturing.

“I go to China regularly…” Farley said. “They want to be the largest source of manufacturing for the world. They now have twice as many car factories as their local market can absorb. They want to export all of that to create these great jobs.”

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“We’re in one war over production now worldwide…” he continued.

“When I went to China, I came back with a completely different perspective. They want all our jobs in our place.”