Exploring the potential impact of AI infrastructure on the local economy

As we learn more about Foxconn's sale of its Lordstown plant to Softbank, one thing we still don’t know is what exactly the site will be used for. It's likely the facility will hold artificial intelligence infrastructure — but that could mean anything from an AI server manufacturing hub to a data center.

James Grice, a partner at Akerman LLP and chair of the law firm’s data centers and digital infrastructure team, says either of those two options would be beneficial to the local economy. But a manufacturing facility would have a more direct impact through job creation, whereas the impact of data centers may be felt more indirectly.

Data centers are often lauded as job creators, but many of the jobs they create are temporary construction positions. After the centers are constructed, they are not very labor-intensive, Grice said. 

“The occupants of a data center are the servers,” Grice said. “That's the objective, is to have working servers that have a continuous operational standard.”

Permanent roles at the data centers might involve security, maintenance, design and configuration logistics, or software/hardware engineering. Those roles tend to be higher-paid since they are higher-skilled, Grice noted, leading to “a lot of injection of wages and labor income that benefits the local economy.”

While an advanced manufacturing facility would bring more jobs to the area, those jobs could still require high levels of qualifications to attain, since they involve the production of complex technology. 

“You are going to see a kind of an upgrade in the skillsets needed and a more technical-centric skillset needed in both scenarios,” Grice said, “but there may be a more diverse labor pool needed for an advanced manufacturing than for a data center facility.”

He added that across the country, companies have done “affirmative outreach” to local educational organizations to “cultivate the kind of curriculum … and training needed to create job opportunities for the local workforce.”

If that sounds familiar, it’s because the Trumbull Career and Technical Center has already offered that kind of customized training to businesses in the area, based on their workforce needs. Jason Gray, TCTC’s director, says there is not currently a plan in place to work with Foxconn or Softbank on such a program, but the center would be interested if one of the companies reached out. 

Nathan Berry, the career development and work-based learning coordinator at TCTC, said the center is already preparing its high school and adult students for AI and advanced manufacturing roles. Berry said the TCTC has worked with students on software integration, app and web development, industrial technology and robotics, among other skills. 

“We've said for a long time that we are now preparing students for jobs that don't even exist,” he said. “At this point in time, I think we're seeing that statement come into fruition, those jobs are beginning to exist. … We have invested tons of time, energy and money into creating a program that we know will help students gain the skills that they need for those advanced manufacturing jobs.”