This is the art of the deal. For many this was the reason they voted for Donald Trump. From the very start of his campaign, Trump vowed to keep manufacturing jobs in the United States and lure jobs back to the U.S. and the decision by Carrier, the big air-conditioner company, to move 1,400 jobs from Indiana to Mexico was mentioned more than once near the end of the campaign. Carrier had planned to move production from a key factory in that state to Mexico, taking with it the roughly 1,400 jobs of those who work at the Indiana plant.
Tonight Carrier announced that thanks to President-Elect Trump and Vice President-Elect Pence about 1,000 of those jobs will be staying put.
On Thursday, the President-Elect and his VP Mike Pence, who is still Indiana’s governor plan to appear at Carrier’s Indianapolis plant to officially announce they’ve struck a deal with the company.
Terms of the deal haven’t been revealed but sources indicated there were new incentives offered from the state of Indiana, where Pence is governor, that helped clear a path for the agreement. When they visit Carrier, President-Elect Trump and VP-Elect Pence are expected to reiterate their campaign pledges to be friendlier to business by easing regulations and overhauling the corporate tax code.
While parent company United Technologies (UTX) was seeking the savings that would come from moving some production to Mexico, they also felt the savings were not worth incurring the wrath of the incoming administration, including the potential threat to the significant business that UTX currently conducts with the U.S. government, largely in the form of orders for jet engines and other defense-related equipment. Approximately 10 percent of the UTX’ $56 billion in revenues comes from the federal government, with the Pentagon its single largest customer.
Not bad for an adminstration that doesn’t even take office for six weeks.
