The Megafactories Are Coming. Will the Workers Show Up?

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Enormous factories are sprouting outside of this capital city. Now comes the hard part—finding people to work in them.

Manufacturing jobs are tough to fill around Columbus, which has one of Ohio’s lowest unemployment rates and a flourishing logistics industry that competes for the same employees. The region’s plants have thousands of open positions, a shortage that is causing some managers to join their workers on the production line.