Warren Buffett likened unemployed workers to animals that are helpless to avoid car crashes, and said the U.S. must do more to help those displaced by competition from overseas and technology.

"Nobody should be roadkill," Buffett said on Saturday at the annual meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway in Omaha, Nebraska.

Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett, holds an ice cream as he poses for a selfie with Liz Claman of the Fox Business Network during the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. Credit:Nati Hamik

The billionaire faced several questions at the gathering about declining employment in the manufacturing sector — a key theme in the recent presidential race — and about job cuts at Kraft Heinz, the food maker backed by Buffett and 3G Capital. He reiterated his view that society at large benefits from both economic efficiency and free trade, often at the expense of individual workers who struggle to find new jobs.

He spoke of the plight of former employees at a Berkshire textile operation in New Bedford, Massachusetts, who lost their work to competition from cheaper locations decades ago. Buffett said such shifts help millions of people by providing necessities at a lower cost.