Why New AI Data Centers May Not Bring a Jobs Bonanza

WSJ What’s News

The Wall Street Journal

News, Daily News

4.1 • 4.2K Ratings

🗓️ 26 February 2025

⏱️ 12 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

P.M. Edition for Feb. 26. As new data centers to power artificial intelligence pop up across the U.S., tech leaders and politicians have promised a hiring bonanza. But as WSJ reporter Tom Dotan tells us, the number of jobs created in the long term is often more modest. Plus, President Trump’s proposed tariffs are driving a wedge through the aluminum industry. Journal manufacturing and metals reporter Bob Tita discusses who is for and against the new tariffs, and the impact they would have on the industry. Plus, reporter Katherine Clarke talks about the newest category of the ultra-rich: the superbillionaire. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Spice Lovers. Are you ready to fill the fire this winter? Heat up the coldest month for the year with new limited edition Extra Flaming Hot Walkers. Bringing the heat to Britain's most love Chris brand. Don't be a denier. Own the fire. Try new extra flaming hot walkers and try the rest of our range with extra
0:23.3	flaming hot Doritos, Walker's Max, and What's It's Crunchy.
0:30.9	President Trump in his first cabinet meeting defends Elon Musk's government cost-cutting efforts.
0:38.4	Plus, is the AI Data Center boom really creating the scores of new jobs it's promising?
0:43.7	If you think about the resources that these things consume, you really start to ask questions
0:48.2	about whether the cost that could be incurred onto the people that live near the data center
0:52.1	is worth it given the relatively small number
0:54.4	of jobs. And the rise and rise of the super billionaire. It's Wednesday, February 26th. I'm Alex
1:01.4	Oslo for the Wall Street Journal. This is the PM edition of What's News, the top headlines
1:06.1	and business stories that move the world today.
1:15.3	Thank you. stories that move the world today. President Trump held his first cabinet meeting of his second term today.
1:19.4	In it, he defended billionaire advisor Elon Musk, who was also in attendance.
1:24.0	Trump praised Musk's efforts to slash government spending.
1:27.3	We're cutting down government. We're cutting down the size of government. We have to. We're bloated. We're sloppy. We have a lot of people that aren't doing their job. We have a lot of people that don't exist.
1:38.6	The president asked his cabinet if anyone was dissatisfied with Musk's efforts. Members of the cabinet seated around a long table in the West Wing, laughed, and none indicated any dissent.
1:48.9	But several senior agency officials have instructed federal workers to pause or not respond to Musk's email,
1:55.4	asking federal workers for a bullet point list of five things they accomplished last week.
2:12.0	This month, President Trump announced that duties on imported aluminum would rise to 25% from 10% starting March 12th, while expanding the range of aluminum products subject to tariffs.
2:17.1	It's driving a wedge in the $92 billion U.S. aluminum industry.
2:21.3	Producers are generally in favor of the expanded tariffs, while buyers are against them.
2:26.2	Bob Tita, who covers manufacturing and metals industries for WS.J, is here to tell us more.
2:31.6	Bob, let's start with the producers.
	...

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