As promised by Donald Trump, Carrier has announced that it will not be moving its Indiana plant to Mexico, instead staying in Indiana.
As reported by Bloomberg, Carrier agreed to keep about 1,000 factory jobs at its furnace plant in Indiana, CNBC reported, handing President-elect Donald Trump a victory on an issue that had become a rallying cry in his campaign.
A deal between Trump and Carrier, a division of United Technologies Corp., includes new inducements from the state, CNBC reporter David Faber said on Twitter. Vice President-elect and Indiana Governor Mike Pence spearheaded the negotiating effort and Trump will travel to the factory on Thursday to announce the agreement, Faber said.
Carrier said earlier this year it would eliminate 1,400 U.S. jobs by relocating the plant’s manufacturing work to Mexico. The decision garnered national notice during the presidential campaign after a worker’s cell-phone video of the announcement to employees took off on social media and generated criticism of Carrier.
In April, Trump said he would impose a hefty tax on Carrier’s Mexican-made products and “within 24 hours, they’re going to call back: ‘Mr. President, we’ve decided to stay. We’re coming back to Indianapolis.”’
United Technologies also makes Otis elevators and Pratt & Whitney jet engines, which power U.S. military jets as well as commercial aircraft.
“We are pleased to have reached a deal” with Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence to keep the work in the U.S., Carrier said Tuesday in a tweet. Trump tweeted that he’ll travel to Indiana on Thursday to make the announcement.
Carrier said earlier this year it would move the furnace plant’s operations, eliminating 1,400 U.S. jobs, to keep production costs competitive. The decision garnered national notice after a worker’s cell-phone video of the announcement to employees took off on social media and generated criticism of Carrier parent United Technologies Corp., which is also a major defense contractor that supplies engines for U.S. fighter jets.
Trump, as well as Democratic U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, seized on the announcement and used the company in their presidential campaigns as an example of how U.S. workers were being hurt by trade deals. In April, Trump said he would impose a hefty tax on Carrier’s Mexican-made products and “within 24 hours, they’re going to call back: ‘Mr. President, we’ve decided to stay. We’re coming back to Indianapolis.’”
Defense Contracts
In the past week, Sanders called on Trump to use defense contracts and other issues as leverage to get United Technologies to keep the factory in Indiana. The Farmington, Connecticut-based company also makes Pratt & Whitney jet engines and Otis elevators, in addition to Carrier air conditioners and heating equipment.
United Technologies had stuck by its Carrier decision, with Chief Executive Officer Gregory Hayes saying shortly before this month’s presidential election that the move was necessary to keep pace with competitors who have moved manufacturing work to Mexico in the past decade. Trump tweeted on Thanksgiving that he was “making progress” with the company, and Carrier responded that day by saying it was in talks with the president-elect’s team.
