Early in Donald Trump's presidency, the self-declared "greatest jobs president God ever created" rattled a rhetorical saber at companies he felt were threatening to offshore production and, in the process, lay off American workers.
Carrier was, arguably, his first project. Before he was even sworn in, Trump played hard with the company, which said at the time it was going to lay off about 1,000 jobs from its Indiana plant. And as a result, Trump said that thousands of jobs would be saved, in something that turned out to be a grand pre-Christmas PR stunt.
But now, six months into Trump's presidency, the company announced that they would be laying off 600 people. Most of the jobs that would be kept are ones that were never in jeopardy anyway, CNBC reported: "engineering and technical jobs."
In a cruel twist, the money that Carrier was going to be investing in the plant — $16 million — will be going to automation.
But there's another reverse-Midas situation with Trump, and that one is a bit worse: Boeing. The aircraft manufacturer announced Thursday that less than 200 workers would be laid off from its South Carolina factory that opened in 2009. The non-union shop was the site of a Trump visit in February. After assuming office, Trump targeted the company on Twitter over the cost of the Air Force's replacements for its aging Air Force One planes.
While not connected directly to Boeing's layoffs, Trump's attack on the company came on the heels of Boeing's CEO delivering a dig at Trump in the Chicago Tribune.
In a memo obtained by the Post and Courier, a Boeing executive said the layoffs were part of an effort to "be more competitive in a relentlessly challenging industry."
About the layoffs, she added: "I must be honest with you, there may be more to come."
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