Will AI replace Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic?
AI reaches little of this job’s work.
14/100
Low exposure
More exposed to AI than 27% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 0% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 29% of the work
What the job involves
Lay out reference points and dimensions on metal or plastic stock or workpieces, such as sheets, plates, tubes, structural shapes, castings, or machine parts, for further processing. Includes shipfitters.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Within reach(4)
- Plan locations and sequences of cutting, drilling, bending, rolling, punching, and welding operations, using compasses, protractors, dividers, and rules.
- Plan and develop layouts from blueprints and templates, applying knowledge of trigonometry, design, effects of heat, and properties of metals.
- Design and prepare templates of wood, paper, or metal.
- Add dimensional details to blueprints or drawings made by other workers.
Out of reach(10)
- Mark curves, lines, holes, dimensions, and welding symbols onto workpieces, using scribes, soapstones, punches, and hand drills.
- Fit and align fabricated parts to be welded or assembled.
- Compute layout dimensions, and determine and mark reference points on metal stock or workpieces for further processing, such as welding and assembly.
- Lift and position workpieces in relation to surface plates, manually or with hoists, and using parallel blocks and angle plates.
- Lay out and fabricate metal structural parts such as plates, bulkheads, and frames.
and 5 more
Also called
Ship Fitter · Shipfitter · Layout Technician (Layout Tech) · Layout Worker · Aircraft Lay Out Worker · Bellmaker · Duplicator · Hangersmith
Related jobs
What these numbers mean
The score is the share of this job’s work, weighted by how important and frequent each task is, that AI could do in half the time: tasks an AI model could do alone count in full, tasks that need software built on AI count half.
“AI already used” is the share of the work in tasks where people are recorded using AI today. “As AI tools mature” counts every task AI could halve, with or without extra software.
The percentile compares the score with every job’s, weighted by how many people in the US do each one. Exposure means AI could change how the work is done, not that the job goes away. These are estimates for the typical job, not predictions.
Sources
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs (task labels), Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), OpenAI and University of Pennsylvania
- Anthropic Economic Index: labor market impacts (task penetration), Anthropic
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national and metropolitan areas), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics