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胶卷生产复苏柯达扩产 美国制造业薪资大涨为何仍招工难_我的网站
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Recent media reports have questioned whether a natural gas plant built to power an Amazon data center project in Texas could become the largest climate polluter in the US. The controversy, whatever the eventual outcome, offers a reality check for America's artificial intelligence (AI) drive.
It exposes a growing contradiction: The US is racing to expand its AI capabilities, yet its protectionist trade policies are making it harder and more costly to access some of the clean-energy technologies needed to sustain that expansion. This raises a broader question: Can an energy-intensive AI race afford the costs of renewable energy protectionism?
The US is entering a new era of rising electricity demand. Data centers, the backbone of the AI economy, are emerging as one of the fastest-growing sources of power consumption. Much of that demand is still being met by fossil fuels: The International Energy Agency reports that natural gas supplies more than 40 percent of the electricity used by data centers in the US, making it their largest source of power.
So, it's not surprising that the expansion of data centers has raised concerns over their environmental impact and the pressure they could place on local power systems and electricity bills. A Gallup survey conducted in March found that seven in 10 Americans opposed the construction of AI data centers in their local area, including 48 percent who strongly opposed such projects.
The findings point to a broader challenge for the US: The race to develop AI is increasingly becoming a race to meet growing energy needs. Addressing this challenge will require more than advances in computing technology; it will also depend on an energy system capable of delivering large amounts of reliable, affordable and cleaner power. That, in turn, will require faster development and broader deployment of clean-energy technologies, from solar power to energy storage.
Yet in the clean-energy sector, the US has increasingly relied on protectionist trade measures that limit access to cost-competitive products from global markets. The country has placed greater emphasis on expanding domestic manufacturing capacity, but rebuilding entire clean-energy supply chains at home is a costly and time-consuming process. Even if expanded domestic production is achieved, it is likely to come at a higher cost, making the deployment of renewable technologies more expensive and potentially slower.
The solar industry offers a clear illustration of this policy direction. The US has continued to expand trade barriers in the sector. Reuters reported that the US government announced on Thursday a series of price floors and a 15 percent tariff on products made from polysilicon, a raw material used in solar panels.
The challenge lies in the limited scale of the US polysilicon industry. Reuters reported that the country has two polysilicon factories. Against this backdrop, relying on domestic polysilicon production while restricting access to imports runs counter to the goal of expanding solar power in the US. The country risks creating barriers that ultimately constrain its own access to the global supply chains needed for growth.
The pressing issue for the US is the speed at which new power demand is emerging. The expansion of data centers is creating electricity needs that cannot wait for domestic clean-energy capacity to develop gradually. Global supply chains can provide the scale and speed required in the near term. By narrowing access to these sources, the US risks turning clean-energy policy into a drag on the infrastructure needed for its AI race.
The US has placed AI high on its economic and technological agenda. The outcome of this race will matter greatly, as financial markets are also watching whether America can turn its AI efforts into commercial success.
This leaves the US with a difficult choice: Can it afford the cost of clean-energy protectionism while racing to build AI infrastructure? The answer may be no. Trade barriers that limit access to competitive renewable technologies could ultimately become a constraint on the AI expansion that Washington is seeking to accelerate.
The author is a reporter with the Global Times. [email protected]
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胶卷巨头伊士曼柯达公司近日表示，由于胶卷摄影正在复苏，需要增产才能满足消费者对相机胶卷的需求。“令人欣慰的是需求回来了，我们需要高水平的技术人员来制造并保持机器运转。”柯达胶片制造副总裁布金凯尔（Nagraj Boukinkere）表示。新的需求将为柯达创造新的就业机会，柯达表示，目前正在寻找75个空缺职位。但是现在的问题是，他们可能难以招到工人，或者需要为此支付更高的劳动报酬。美国招聘速度创新高随着美国制造业的回归，企业正在争相雇佣工人，美国工厂的招聘速度也创下几十年来的新高。
B | 美国最新的9月就业数据显示，美国制造行业在9月增加了22000名工人，自今年4月以来，美国制造业就业以约4%的速度增长，创下1984年以来的最快增速。在过去12个月内，美国制造业新增就业岗位达50万个。即便这样，制造企业也无法招聘到足够的工人来填补工厂岗位的空缺。根据美国劳工部的报告，在去年的大部分时间里，制造业仍有约80万个职位短缺。
C | 美国制造商协会首席执行官杰伊·蒂蒙斯（Jay Timmons）表示，制造行业每100个空缺的职位，应聘的人只有60个，要把这个空缺填补需要相当长的时间。蒂蒙斯还表示，制造业的薪酬在过去一年中上涨了5%，尤其是对熟练工的争夺激烈，这也将推动该行业的薪酬继续上涨。
D | 锐珂医疗大中华区总裁刘杰对第一财经记者表示：“美国制造业回流是一大趋势，但工人难招、工资上涨仍然是突出问题。”锐珂医疗前身为伊斯曼柯达医疗业务，后来从柯达剥离出来。自2020年新冠疫情以来，美国制造业的招聘就一直面临挑战。“随着全球经济对供应链产生更多的担忧，许多依赖海外供应商的美国公司已将重点转移到离本土更近的原材料和零部件来源。”一位国内大型医疗设备制造商美国生产基地负责人告诉第一财经记者，“毫无疑问，现在美国制造业的劳动力面临短缺，招人也面临困难，尤其是难以招到具有成熟技术的工人。”上述人士认为，制造业的自动化可能会成为未来一大趋势。
E | “一些工厂可能需要提升机器人的比例来替代工人，但不得不承认，并不是所有的工作程序都能由机器来完成。”他表示。全球最大的电动车厂商特斯拉也面临劳动力短缺。为此，特斯拉CEO马斯克推出了一款人形机器人“擎天柱”，他希望把特斯拉变成世界上最大的机器人公司。马斯克的长期愿景是让机器取代大部分劳动力，来从事“危险的、重复的、和无聊的任务”。薪资上涨岗位仍招不满一家位于美国宾州生产工程机械设备的美国制造商表示，工厂愿意支付工人更高的价格，以加快生产速度，但即便是每小时的薪资上涨至20至30美元，也很难招到符合要求的工人。某国际人力资源技术公司中国区高管李新宇对第一财经记者表示：“当前美国制造商在吸引工人方面面临的最大问题之一，是美国人愿意从事“蓝领”工作的人越来越少，这一方面是由于美国近几十年大力发展技术行业，科技人才能得到高薪，“蓝领”薪酬低；另一方面，美国的“零工经济”很发达，越来越多的人宁可选择灵活就业。”他还表示，美国原本对移民就业的政策就相对较为严格，在出台了“芯片法案”之后，加剧了人才市场的供需矛盾，导致包括芯片在内的制造业难招工的情况。调研机构Statista数据显示，美国从事灵活就业的人口达到5700万左右。今天，美国只有不到10%的私营部门工作岗位在制造业，而二战结束时这一比例曾超过40%。
F | 另据美国劳工部报告，制造业工作的平均每周工资为1250美元，即年薪65000美元，虽然这相较于科技巨头的薪资水平要低很多，但仍然比美国私营部门的工作岗位的平均收入高出11%，比零售工作岗位高超过80%。业内人士表示，随着技术的进步，制造业对于工人技能的要求也越来越高，而现在很多国家在先进技工人才储备方面还面临缺口。“其实我们应该对工人岗位有新的认识。”李新宇对第一财经记者表示，“今天看到美国制造业回流，有相当一部分集中在高精尖的制造业，招聘的技术工人已不再是传统的焊接工人这类简单的操作工，而是需要懂得操作控制精密仪器的，那么美国劳动力市场上是否已经有足够的高级技工的储备？我认为可能还有很大一部分缺口。
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