Pharmas face off for manufacturing talent amidst reshoring efforts
As pharmas reshore manufacturing, they’re squaring off with each other to find the right personnel to staff up their plants. That task is challenging given the limited talent pool, difficulty filling critical roles and, in some cases, competition from data centers.
As pharmaceutical companies expand existing manufacturing facilities and add new ones to reshore operations to the U.S., there is concern about how well they can build the workforce needed to open and operate those sites.
Sheena Dempsey, CEO of CAI, which provides manufacturing experts and consultants to stand up global manufacturing plants, is among those wondering if supply can keep up with demand. She told BioSpace that with pharmas pursuing the same people for open positions, there is a war for talent—and it will get even hotter in 2027 and 2028.
Dempsey added that a complicating factor is the industry is competing with data centers for talent to build and commission new facilities. For example, she said, in Texas, where pharmas and data centers are putting up plants, companies can’t hire or train fast enough across all organizational levels, from engineers to supervisors.
“It’s a significant challenge for the industry, and there’s no simple solutions,” she said.
Talent availability is the defining constraint on U.S. therapeutic biologics manufacturing growth, according to a 2026 Global Location Strategies report. Biological product manufacturing not including diagnostics employs over 46,000 people in the country and has grown 5.1% annually over the past decade, the report noted. However, it added, “Only a handful of regions can offer talent at sufficient scale to support large biologics facilities.”
In a BioPharma International interview in January, Eric Langer, president of market strategy and consulting firm BioPlan Associates, said biopharmaceutical manufacturing entered 2026 with a mounting workforce crisis that threatens global capacity. Based on a BioPlan study, he noted that a significant share of facilities can’t fill critical roles. The study found that 36% of respondents are unable to hire process development staff, 28% struggle to hire downstream production personnel and 27% lack sufficient process engineers.
The growing need for talent
Pharma’s largest companies have announced over $160 billion combined in U.S. manufacturing spending following President Donald Trump’s 2025 threat of levying tariffs on organizations that don’t reshore operations. Businesses making investments include AbbVie, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), Eli Lilly, Merck, Novartis, Roche and Takeda. The pharmas are expanding or building manufacturing facilities in states including California, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas. Those sites combined are expected to employ thousands of manufacturing professionals.
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