The Carrier factory that President Trump convinced owners not to move to Mexico will lay off hundreds of workers just before the holiday season, CNN reported Tuesday.
The Indianapolis furnace plant pledged to stay in the United States late last year after making a deal with President Trump, but announced today that it will lay off more than 600 workers, the final 290 of which will be fired just before the holiday season.
The move isn’t a complete surprise for the company. In their initial announcement last year, the company revealed that while the plant would remain in the U.S., the factory would be cutting down on labor to reduce costs.
{mosads}Trump took credit for saving 1,100 jobs at the factory in December.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Trump told a crowd in Indianapolis last year. “I’ll get a call from the head of Carrier and he’ll say, ‘Mr. President, we’ve decided to stay in the United States.’ That’s what’s going to happen — 100 percent.”
Carrier later said that the real number was closer to 800, and that some of those jobs would be later phased out due to automation. Carrier’s original plan was to close the entire factory, eliminating close to 1,400 jobs.