Shortage of workers in industry – how to meet it?

The limited number of people willing to work in manufacturing companies is a critical problem that many companies are already facing. The Polish Economic Institute warns that by 2035 employment in the industrial sector (sections B-E) could shrink by as many as 805,000 people, or about 11% of current levels [1]. Also, CSO data presented in its annual bulletin “Labor Demand in 2024”. [2] leave no illusions:

• In the Polish industry at the end of 2024, about 24,500 vacancies remain vacant;
• Industrial and craft workers were the second group of sought-after occupations (20.7% of total job vacancies, up 0.1% from 2023);
• Another were equally needed in industry: machine and equipment operators and assemblers, and technicians.

Although the main reason for the coming crisis is the aging of the population, among the reasons for choosing other career paths are:

• uncompetitiveness of wages in industry;
• A limited number of additional benefits;
• difficult working conditions, including shift work, noise, physical strain;
• inflexible working hours;
• Low social prestige and a sense of the “meaning” of working on the production line;
• high number of people with higher education (reluctance to work in an under-qualified position) [3-7].

Even increased immigration has not changed the situation of industrial processing. Data shows that 180,000 of the more than one million foreigners working in Poland found employment in industry alone [8].

The consequences for manufacturing companies could be severe

These include:

• Reduction in productivity and quality,
• production continuity problems,
• Deterioration of competitiveness,
• difficulties in processing orders,
• increase in labor costs,
• intensified struggle for workers,

In addition, the difficulties of the industrial sector are expected to affect the economic slowdown of the country as a whole. Poland may see a decline in GDP of up to 8% [1].

Solutions to the labor shortage problem

1. automation of production increases industry resilience

Reducing a factory’s need for manpower can be achieved by installing automated systems. Machines make far fewer mistakes, do not get sick, are accurate, fast, precise and resistant to the effects of boredom or fatigue. This stabilizes the production process and makes the company more resilient to both long-term (e.g., demographics) and short-term changes (e.g., seasonal increased incidence of flu).

Moreover, in some production steps, such as in quality control, automated vision systems outperform humans. What’s more, some of them, such as Scanway’s vision systems, do not require additional personnel or long-term retraining even during the implementation period or when adding new functionality.

See what defects in cans are detected by vision systems

2. qualitative changes in jobs

Robotization of production workstations not only speeds up production and increases the quality of product manufacturing, but also improves human working conditions. An industrial robot can reduce a worker’s physical workload or do tedious and repetitive work for him, giving space to develop competence in other areas.

Reducing employment while maintaining or increasing production increases the company’s competitiveness in the labor market. The financial space gained provides the opportunity to offer training to improve skills, employee benefits or wage increases, making employment in industrial processing more attractive.

Digitalization and industrial automation are trends gaining popularity for good reason. They are working and proven solutions for manufacturing companies that not only help them grow or become more competitive, but also mitigate the negative effects of the coming demographic changes.

Sources:

[1] Kukołowicz, P., Leszczyński, P., Lubasiński, J. (2024), Konsekwencje zmian demograficznych dla podaży pracy w Polsce, Polski Instytut Ekonomiczny, Warszawa

[2] Central Statistical Office (2025), Demand for labor in 2024, Warsaw .

[3] Eurofound (2023), Measures to tackle labour shortages: Lessons for future policy, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg

[4] Causa, O. et al. (2025), Labour shortages and labour market inequalities: Evidence and policy implications, OECD Economics Department Working Papers, No. 1832, OECD Publishing, Paris

[5] International Labour Organization (2024), Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024, Geneva

[6] European Trade Union Institute (2023), Labour shortages – turning away from bad jobs, ETUI, Brussels

[7] The Manufacturing Institute & Deloitte LLP (2022), Competing for talent: Recasting perceptions of manufacturing, The Manufacturing Institute / Deloitte, USA.

[8] Małkowska, A., Różański, P., Stańczuk, M. (2024). Labour Shortages and the Role of Foreigners: A Case Study of the Labour Market in Poland. Cracow University of Economics, Cracow