Hundreds could still lose jobs at Carrier's Indianapolis plant, despite Trump deal

[JV]

WASHINGTON –  In persuading Carrier to keep hundreds of jobs in Indiana, President-elect Donald Trump is claiming victory on behalf of factory workers whose positions were bound for Mexico. But the scant details that have emerged so far raise doubts about the extent of the victory.

By enabling Carrier's Indianapolis plant to stay open, the deal spares about 800 union workers whose jobs were going to be outsourced to Mexico, according to federal officials who were briefed by the heating and air conditioning company. This suggests that hundreds will still lose their jobs at the factory, where roughly 1,400 workers were slated to be laid off.

Also, neither Trump nor Carrier has yet to say what the workers might have to give up or precisely what threats or incentives were used to get the manufacturer to change its mind.

"There's excitement with most people, but there's a lot of skepticism and worry because we don't know the details," said TJ Bray, 32, who has worked for Carrier for 14 years and installs insulation in furnaces.

"There's a few that are worried. And there's still a few that don't even believe this is real. They think it's a play, a set-up or a scam."

Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., said he, too, has lingering questions about what the announcement could mean for the workers.

"Who is going to be retained? What is the structure there will be for the retention? What is going to be put in place?" Donnelly said. "Are these the same jobs at the same wage? I would sure like to know as soon as I can."

Fuller answers could emerge Thursday, when Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who is ending his tenure as Indiana governor, are to appear with Carrier officials in Indiana.

On the campaign trail, Trump threatened to impose sharp tariffs on any company that shifted its factories to Mexico. And his advisers have since promoted lower corporate tax rates as a means of keeping jobs in the U.S.

Trump may have had some leverage because United Technologies, Carrier's parent company, also owns Pratt & Whitney, a big supplier of fighter jet engines that relies in part on U.S. military contracts.

Carrier said in a statement that more than 1,000 jobs were saved, though that figure includes headquarters and engineering staff that were likely to stay in Indiana.

The company attributed its decision to the incoming Trump administration and financial incentives provided by Indiana, which is something of a reversal, since earlier offers from the state had failed to sway Carrier from decamping to Mexico.

"Today's announcement is possible because the incoming Trump-Pence administration has emphasized to us its commitment to support the business community and create an improved, more competitive U.S. business climate," the company said.

In February, United Technologies said it would close its Carrier air conditioning and heating plant in Indianapolis and move its manufacturing to Mexico. The plant's workers would have been laid off over three years starting in 2017.

Whatever deal Trump struck with Carrier does not appear to have salvaged jobs at a separate branch of United Technologies in Huntington, Ind., that makes microprocessor-based controls for the heating, air conditioning and refrigeration industries. That branch will move manufacturing operations to a new plant in Mexico, costing the city 700 jobs by 2018.

Huntington Mayor Brooks Fetters suggested that local officials lack the political clout to preserve those jobs.

"At a local level, there was not much that anybody was going to do to make global, publicly traded companies make a decision other than what they made for the benefit of their shareholders," Fetters said.

Donnelly said he worries about other factory job losses threatening his state. Bearing maker Rexnord, which has a factory near the Carrier plant in Indianapolis, plans to lay off about 350 workers. And electronics manufacturer CTS plans to eliminate more than 200 jobs at its Elkhart plant, he said.

Union leaders who represent the Carrier workers were not involved in the negotiations that the Trump team had with their employer.

Chuck Jones, president of United Steelworkers Local 1999, which represents Carrier workers, said of Tuesday's news: "I'm optimistic, but I don't know what the situation is. I guess it's a good sign. ... You would think they would keep us in the loop. But we know nothing."

Trump's deal with Carrier may be a public relations success for the incoming president. It also suggests that he has unveiled a new presidential economic approach: actively choosing individual corporate winners and losers — or at least winners.

To critics who see other Indiana factories on the verge of closing, deals like the one at Carrier are unlikely to stem the job losses caused by automation and cheap foreign competition.

The prospect that the White House might directly intervene is also a concern to some economists. The incentives needed to keep jobs from moving often come at the public's expense. They note that Trump's activism might encourage companies to threaten to move jobs overseas in hopes of receiving tax breaks or contracts with the government.

"It sets up a race to the bottom," said Diane Lim, chief economist at the nonprofit Committee for Economic Development.

Carrier's parent company indicated that moving production to Mexico would save the company $65 million annually. Because of pressures like that, states routinely give manufacturers incentives, and "economists who recoil at the thought of this are living in a dream world," said Scott Paul, president of the American Alliance for Manufacturing.

For Trump, a challenge will be trying to duplicate the Carrier feat many times over to retain and increase the nation's 12.3 million manufacturing jobs.

Since the start of 2015, the Labor Department has issued over 1,600 approvals for layoffs or plant closings as a result of shifts of production overseas or competition from imports, the American Alliance of Manufacturing noted.

But other forces, such as consumer demand and the value of the dollar, also determine whether assembly lines keep humming.

Payroll services provider ADP said Wednesday that manufacturers shed 10,000 jobs in November. U.S. manufacturers have struggled in the past year as a stronger dollar has cut into exports and domestic businesses have spent less on machinery and other equipment.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Wednesday that Trump would have to replicate the Carrier deal 804 times to meet President Barack Obama's record. He said that Obama created 805,000 jobs in manufacturing and that the figure is much higher if existing jobs that have been protected are included.

Trump acknowledged the extent of the problem on the campaign trail this year.

"So many hundreds and hundreds of companies are doing this," he said. "We have to stop our jobs from being stolen from us. We have to stop our companies from leaving the United States."

Carrier wasn't the only company Trump assailed during the campaign. He pledged to give up Oreos after Nabisco's parent, Mondelez International, said it would replace nine production lines in Chicago with four in Mexico. He criticized Ford after the company said it planned to invest $2.5 billion in engine and transmission plants in Mexico.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/11/30/hundreds-could-still-los...

[kevin kiernan]

Mike Pence is the Gov. of Indiana. My God, didn`t you know that. Pence handled it. I guess you only listen to Levin. Other news had said how Pence handled the paper work of contracts. Many States do this...Just look at Texas. Rick Perry became a good Gov. because he did it. And Rick is not really the sharpest knife in the drawer.What Trump did is explain his policies of lower taxes and cutting regulations was coming once he gets in office. I guess Levin did not listen to the CEO`s comments.

[JV]

then why is trump getting credit for it?

again what about the threats and intimidation of losing gov contracts.

well one good thing is that trump is not a communist where they would nationalize and take the company, easier to use fascist tactics and just tell them what to do or suffer the consequences .

gonna be a long 4 yrs

[kevin kiernan]

Who said he threatened about Gov. contracts. Ask them to prove that. That is probably a lie.

[kevin kiernan]

Besides ,any gov. contract should only be with American Co.

[JV]

there are several videos of trump stating that he would punish co. that wanted to leave the USA, what did he mean by that? only two things he can do is tax/tariff them or pull contracts. its one of those unspoken threats the progressive have used for yrs

another of my concerns is what about the next Co that says they are leaving...will they get a 7 million dollar deal??

and could this cause a chain reaction of other co's doing it to get tax credits..ie handouts.

picking winners and losers is not the job of POTUS or a conservative

[JV]

now that I agree with..

one problem is that so many co's have been ran off that there are so many needed things that are no longer made here

I think I heard that there are no us manufacturers of light bulbs, 

and I know this through my parents business that there are no us manufacturers of turpentine left and they have to go to brazil for a medical grade that is 5-8 times the price, caused by regulations

[kevin kiernan]

The next company that threatens to leave. The State will have to deal with it. The States that use incentives have to live with it Live by the sword...Die by the sword. 

[charles royer]

How much of this shit are we going to take?Four years worth?

[JV]

one other thought is this is a union shop so I wonder how much the union has to do with all of it, and will they muck it up for him or will he give them a bone.

[kevin kiernan]

Unions are unions. They are suppose to balance the greed and selfishness of corps.. But all to often the union workers get greedy and force corps to relocate. The more God is out of picture. The more greed and selfishness will be in the mix. ..Selfishness and greed are tools of the devil... I know you guys are sick of hearing me say it. But I can not stop saying the true problems of humanity.

[Hankelvis]

The unions are mafia. They control CNN, hollywood, college professors with tenure, the Democrat party, the communist party, they are behind everything we hate as conservatives just go to their website.

[jack ludwig]

JV Carrier got exactly what they set out to get, they wanted a tax break and the understanding they would continue to build their international business operations. Indiana got to keep 1000 jobs and they got the state to subsidise their operations in Indiana meanwhile they will expand their business interest elsewhere. Everyone wins in this deal at least the Indiana workers for a short while.