Workers at the Carrier air-conditioning plant whose jobs are being saved cheered Donald Trump’s deal with the Indiana company to not relocate production to Mexico.
And even the White House applauded the deal.
“Everyone thought he wasn’t serious about running for president. Then no one thought he could get the nomination for the Republican Party. He couldn’t get support from his own party. All the media outlets predicted he had no chance of winning the election,” longtime Carrier employee Paul Roell wrote on Facebook Wednesday.
“Then everyone said he couldn’t make Carrier stay. Weeks after being elected and Carrier is staying. Thank you Donald Trump for saving my job.”
Obama administration spokesman Josh Earnest also praised the deal — but snarked that the president-elect had a long way to go to match his boss’ record of creating manufacturing jobs.
“The early indications are that this is good news and obviously we would welcome that good news,” Earnest said.
“If he is successful in doing that 804 more times, then he will meet the record of manufacturing jobs that were created in the US while President Obama has been in office,” Earnest said.
Carrier issued a statement Wednesday:
“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 US business climate. The incentives offered by the state were an important consideration.”
CARRIER STATEMENT REGARDING INDIANAPOLIS OPERATIONS
Nov 30, 2016
INDIANAPOLIS
Carrier today released the following statement:
Carrier has had very productive conversations in recent days with President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Pence.
We have negotiated an agreement with the incoming administration that we believe benefits our workers, the state of Indiana and our company.
We are announcing today that Carrier will continue to manufacture gas furnaces in Indianapolis, in addition to retaining engineering and headquarters staff, preserving more than 1,000 jobs.
Carrier will also designate its Indianapolis manufacturing facility as a Center of Excellence for gas furnace production, with a commitment to making significant investments to continue to maintain a world-class furnace factory.
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 incentives offered by the state were an important consideration.
This agreement in no way diminishes our belief in the benefits of free trade and that the forces of globalization will continue to require solutions for the long-term competitiveness of the U.S. and of American workers moving forward.