The Automotive Industry Needs to Adjust Labor Force to Embrace EVs

The automotive industry is poised for a significant overhaul amid global efforts to cut carbon emissions and curb climate change. With transportation said to produce up to 30% of the world’s carbon emissions, dozens of countries have pledged to replace carbon-producing gasoline cars with zero-emission electric vehicles. But while green-energy proponents have argued that this move would significantly cut emissions from transportation, opponents say it could have untold consequences on the labor market.

This is because electric vehicles use a rechargeable battery pack rather than internal combustion engines, meaning workers who specialize in manufacturing combustion engine parts may be rendered jobless by a mass transition to electric vehicles. With EVs also containing fewer parts compared to the average gasoline-powered car, automakers will likely need fewer factory workers to manufacture electric cars.

According to the NPR, certain white-collar workers may also be among the first in the automotive industry to feel the impact of mass electric-vehicle adoption. On top of layoffs among factory workers who work on building engines, white-collar engineers employed in combustion engine departments may also be affected, says NPR’s Aerzou Rezvani.

Michael Krebs from Cox Automotive notes that while there will be layoffs, increased electric vehicle production will be a boon for software engineers. Unlike traditional cars, which are mostly hardware with a little software sprinkled on top, EVs greatly rely on software and hardware. An electric vehicle’s software monitors systems and ensures the vehicle is running as optimally as possible to make the car efficient.

As Rezvani says, electric cars are basically “computers on wheels.” However, he says, there simply aren’t enough software engineers well-versed in EV technology. Craig Dewald, currently the chief learning officer at Ford, says universities have been too focused on gasoline engines and transmissions. He says that they will have to catch up as the automotive industry evolves and embraces electric cars more.

Rezvani says that India and China are among the top employers of new talent, and automakers have noticed. Arthur Hyde, an automotive engineering professor at the University of Michigan, says a lot of the students in his class are from these two countries. Furthermore, he states that plenty of automotive companies have opened engineering centers in India that are tasked only with writing software.

Rezvani says that as automakers adopt electrification, some classes of employees will see layoffs while others will be in high demand. Consequently, the race to EV supremacy won’t just involve surging sales, it will also be a race to snag the right minds for the job for the different EV startups, including Mullen Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN).

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Mullen Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/MULN

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