Americans don't want Trump's 'masculine' manufacturing jobs
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Good morning! If you're planning a trip to visit me in London, be prepared — it might cost more than you expect due to the weaker dollar. BI has broken down just how much pricier your next adventure to Europe or Japan could be.
In today's big story, Trump wants to Make Work Manly Again. Americans are saying no thanks.
What's on deck
Markets: Investors haven't been this bearish about the economy in decades, a new survey found.
Tech: OpenAI's latest move is making it harder for rivals to copy its homework.
Business: Tesla is scaling back on its Cybertruck production.
But first, working in a factory isn't for everyone.
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The big story
Make Work Manly Again
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The idea is to make America the 1950s again, labor-wise, BI's Emily Stewart writes.
When US President Donald Trump talks about his tariffs bringing back jobs, he means specific kinds of jobs — ones in manufacturing, mining, and construction — positions that have historically been held by men and coded as masculine. There's only one problem: Americans don't want them.
An August poll found that 80% of Americans think the country would be better off if more people worked in manufacturing. The rub is that most people don't want to work in manufacturing themselves. That same poll found that just 25% of Americans think they'd be better off working in a factory.
The guy sitting in an air-conditioned office is not racing to get on the assembly line.
"It's hard to imagine American workers wanting to sit at a sewing machine and repetitively sew for $7.50, $8 an hour, and even that's going to drive up Nike's production costs such that a pair of Nikes will go through the roof," said Betsey Stevenson, a professor of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan.
Chinese social media users have been making fun of this scenario by posting memes that include Trump and Vice President JD Vance stitching red hats in a factory.
Traditionally "masculine" jobs aren't what the American economy most needs, or what manufacturing really looks like anymore, Emily writes.
3 things in markets
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1. So much for a better housing market. 2025 was looking up for prospective homebuyers, but that's proved short-lived. Mortgage rates rose last week, reversing six straight weeks of declines as Trump's trade war has escalated.
2. Nvidia stock's rocky road. The chip giant's stock fell 7% on Wednesday and is down more than 20% year-to-date. It's at the epicenter of multiple headwinds, including Trump's tariffs, Chinese AI competition, and more.
3. Investors aren't feeling great about the economy. They're the most pessimistic they've been in 30 years, a new survey from Bank of America shows. About 80% of fund managers said the biggest tail risk right now is a trade war that triggers a global recession.
3 things in tech
Patrick T. Fallon for AFP via Getty Images
1. Nvidia could be hit hard by the new chip export license. The Trump administration is requiring a new license for all accelerated chips shipping to China and other countries including Russia. These rules could impact Nvidia's revenue.
2. OpenAI clamps down on security. The company now requires government ID verification for developers using its most advanced models. It's officially about curbing misuse, but recently, there's been evidence OpenAI's outputs are being used to train competing models.
3. Inside Meta's secret experiments that improve its AI models. Documents revealed in court show how Meta has been quietly training its AI models using a process known as ablation. AI researchers say it could be used to help pay creators whose content the models are trained on.
3 things in business
PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images
1. Tesla drops its Cybertruck production targets. Some Cybertruck lines are running at a fraction of their previous capacity, and a handful of Cybertruck production teams have thinned by more than half, two workers said.
2. Buy, buy, baby. A DC baby and toy store owner told BI how one brand is increasing prices for strollers and car seats due to tariffs. She said people are panic buying items they don't need yet just in case.
3. Don't call it "DEI." Companies may have rolled back their diversity initiatives, but that isn't stopping some managers. Recruiters told BI that amid Trump 2.0, some firms are actually still committed to DEI hiring — they just aren't calling it that.
In other news
- Here is how much the Magnificent 7 lost after stocks tanked over tariff warnings from the Fed and Nvidia.
- Eight revelations from Mark Zuckerberg's three days on the witness stand in Meta's antitrust trial.
- Tesla sales slump in California even as car buying surges ahead of tariffs.
- A judge found probable cause to hold the administration in criminal contempt. A Trump pardon would make it all go away.
- Netflix won't break out subscriber numbers in its earnings anymore. Here's what Wall Street will be focused on instead.
- Reid Hoffman praises Shopify's Toby Lütke for his recent memo on AI.
- Americans are rushing to buy cars before Trump's tariffs kick in.
- The US freight recession is showing no signs of relenting.
- BI visited the largest battery recycler in North America. Take a look at its huge desert campus.
- Four résumé tweaks that helped a teacher with no tech background land a job at Google.
What's happening today
Netflix, American Express, and UnitedHealth Group report earnings.
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