Stop and Go: U.S. automakers provide perhaps the most visible example of the
nation’s evolving demographics. Although plagued by strikes, idled plants,
declining demand and huge job loss, automakers are poised to hire tens of
thousands of new workers during the next decade. That’s the forecast of the
Center for Automotive Research, a nonprofit affiliated with the University of
Michigan.
In a report titled “Beyond the Big Leave: The Future of U.S. Automotive Human
Resources,” the research group predicts U.S. automakers will need to fill 77,000
jobs between 2008 and 2016. That compares with a loss of about 38,000 auto jobs
during the same period. Much of the new hiring will be to make up for a huge
contingent of veteran workers heading toward retirement.
Underlying the forecast is an assumption that sales of U.S. automobiles soon
will begin to rise, after years of declining market share. The report notes that
stagnant demand in the U.S. has caused production to drop precipitously, from
12.8 million units in 1999 to slightly more than 10 million units in
2007.
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