AI Won't Fix Your People Problems

This week Steve brings back some real-world insight from an industry event he attended, Driven by Innovation, where leaders from several automotive and manufacturing companies talked about labor shortages, automation, and AI. One panelist’s comment stuck with both of us: instead of hiring to backfill every open role, their company is pausing hiring and focusing on developing the people they already have. We dig into what that actually looks like in practice, including an electrical contractor who pre-builds customized components in-house so field crews spend less time building and more time installing. We talk about what automation and AI are really changing on the floor, not necessarily eliminating people, but shifting what skills and judgment are needed from them. We also get into what happens to employee time once automation frees some of it up, something most companies don’t think through. More output isn’t the only answer, and treating people as disposable the moment efficiency improves is a mistake a lot of companies are learning the hard way. The conversation also touches on a surprisingly fun detour into Jeep’s design process, including how they still build full-scale clay models by hand even with AI in the mix, and the origin story behind the now-famous “Jeep duck” tradition Highlights Why one company chose to pause hiring and invest in developing existing employees instead. How a contractor cut field time by pre-building components in-house. What happens to employee time once automation frees some of it up, and why so few companies plan for it. Why using AI and automation to justify layoffs often backfires. A fun look at Jeep’s design process, including full-scale clay models and the origin of the Jeep duck tradition. Get in touch with us: Check out the Blue Collar BS website. Steve Doyle: Website LinkedIn Email Brad Herda: Website LinkedIn Email This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy