---
title: "Will AI Replace First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers?"
description: "BLS rates first-line supervisors of production and operating workers' exposure to AI as high. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-first-line-supervisors-of-production-and-operating-workers"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers? (2026)

**Short answer:** Not replaced, but changed. BLS rates the exposure as high, so AI can help with a real share of the work, yet it still projects employment to grow.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places first-line supervisors of production and operating workers in its high AI exposure category, above the middle of the pack: a substantial share of the work overlaps with what AI can do. BLS projects employment to change by +1.8% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 61,000 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | High | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 52/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +1.8% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 61,000 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $74,450 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

| BLS category | Occupations |
| --- | --- |
| Low | 203 |
| Moderate | 194 |
| High (this job) | 190 |
| Very high | 199 |

Exposure means AI could be or has been used to assist with or complete some of the work. BLS says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. Method: https://www.bls.gov/emp/publications/ai-exposure-categories.htm

## What holds up

- Face-to-face discussions: 4.8/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Coaching and developing others: 4.0/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Guiding, directing, and motivating subordinates: 4.1/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## What AI reaches first

- Processing information: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Getting information: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Evaluating information to determine compliance with standards: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Documenting/recording information: 3.6/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## O\*NET tasks

- Confer with management or subordinates to resolve worker problems, complaints, or grievances.
- Enforce safety and sanitation regulations.
- Recommend or implement measures to motivate employees and to improve production methods, equipment performance, product quality, or efficiency.
- Evaluate employee performance.
- Plan and establish work schedules, assignments, and production sequences to meet production goals.
- Confer with other supervisors to coordinate operations and activities within or between departments.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than first-line supervisors of production and operating workers

- [Layout Worker, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/layout-worker-metal-and-plastic): BLS exposure Low, median $63,870
- [First-Line Supervisor of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers](https://nuecareer.com/careers/first-line-supervisor-of-farming-fishing-and-forestry-workers): BLS exposure Low, median $59,320
- [First-Line Supervisor of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers](https://nuecareer.com/careers/first-line-supervisor-of-construction-trades-and-extraction-workers): BLS exposure Moderate, median $79,920; [Will AI replace first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-first-line-supervisors-of-construction-trades-and-extraction-workers)
- [Stationary Engineer and Boiler Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/stationary-engineer-and-boiler-operator): BLS exposure Moderate, median $78,620
- [Hydroelectric Plant Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/hydroelectric-plant-technician): BLS exposure Moderate, median $102,040
- [Timing Device Assembler and Adjuster](https://nuecareer.com/careers/timing-device-assembler-and-adjuster): BLS exposure Moderate, median $62,620

## FAQ

**Will AI replace first-line supervisors of production and operating workers?**

Not replaced, but changed. BLS rates the exposure as high, so AI can help with a real share of the work, yet it still projects employment to grow. BLS defines exposure as AI being able to assist with or complete some of the work, and says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains or wage effects. BLS projects employment to change by +1.8% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 61,000 openings a year.

**How exposed are first-line supervisors of production and operating workers to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers are in the high category, alongside 189 other occupations. The categories combine five public measures of where AI could be or already is used, and they compare occupations with each other rather than giving an absolute risk.

**What parts of a first-line supervisor of production and operating workers's job can AI do?**

In O\*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are processing information, getting information and evaluating information to determine compliance with standards. The parts that hold up best are face-to-face discussions, coaching and developing others and inspecting equipment, structures, or materials. These come from O\*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.

**Is being a first-line supervisor of production and operating workers a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, first-line supervisors of production and operating workers score 52 out of 100, higher than 66% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $74,450 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No job is fully safe from technological change, but the federal exposure category and the projected openings are the two numbers worth weighing.

**What careers similar to first-line supervisors of production and operating workers are less exposed to AI?**

Layout Worker, Metal and Plastic (low exposure, $63,870 median), First-Line Supervisor of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers (low exposure, $59,320 median), First-Line Supervisor of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (moderate exposure, $79,920 median), Stationary Engineer and Boiler Operator (moderate exposure, $78,620 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than first-line supervisors of production and operating workers, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/first-line-supervisor-of-production-and-operating-workers.

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This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology