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Trump saved 800 jobs in Indiana, but at least 2,100 still leaving

Tony Cook
tony.cook@indystar.com

Last week, President-elect Donald Trump saved 800 jobs at a Carrier furnace plant in Indianapolis.

President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence talk to workers Dec. 1 during a visit to the Carrier furnace plant on Indianapolis' west side.

But seven other companies across the state still plan to lay off workers in the coming months amid production shifts to foreign countries such as Mexico and China, an IndyStar review has found.

Including the 1,300 jobs that Carrier’s parent company, United Technologies, still plans to eliminate in Indianapolis and Huntington, the Hoosier state is looking at losing at least 2,100 jobs to foreign countries in the near future — close to triple the number Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence took credit for preserving last week at Carrier's west-side plant.

And that’s just in Indiana.

Carrier union president: Trump's 'terrible job' tweet means he's doing his job

Spokespeople for the incoming administration did not respond to questions about whether Trump might try to intervene with the seven other companies planning layoffs, though he did blast one of the companies — bearings maker Rexnord Industries — for its plans to terminate 300 workers at its Indianapolis plant, about a mile from the Carrier factory.

"Rexnord of Indiana is moving to Mexico and rather viciously firing all of its 300 workers," Trump tweeted Friday. "This is happening all over our country. No more!"

But the large number of impending layoffs highlights the futility of striking deals with individual companies, experts say. They say a broad set of policy changes will be needed to stem the outflow of jobs.

Trump has threatened 35 percent tariffs on companies that move jobs out of the country. He also has proposed scaling back regulations, reducing the corporate tax rate and renegotiating free trade agreements.

In the meantime, though, the jobs exodus that Trump has repeatedly promised to end is likely to continue, economic experts say.

In Elkhart, for example, hundreds of workers will lose their jobs at two factories beginning early next year.

Harman Professional, an audio equipment manufacturer, is terminating 125 production and warehouse positions as it shifts production to a factory in Tijuana, Mexico. A few miles away, auto parts maker CTS Corp. is laying off 230 employees as it moves work to facilities in Mexico, China and Taiwan.

On the other side of the state, more than 80 workers who make soft drink dispensers at Manitowoc Beverage in Sellersburg will lose their jobs as the company transfers work to a factory in Tijuana, Mexico.

And in Lafayette, auto parts maker TRW Automotive is closing one of its two Indiana plants and terminating 65 employees in January. The union that represents workers at the plant has said the company is moving production to China.

Officials from most of those companies did not return phone calls from IndyStar. Those that did said they’ve had no contact with the incoming Trump administration.

Workers at some facilities — including Rexnord in Indianapolis and the Carrier affiliate in Huntington — have asked whether Trump can work a Carrier-like miracle at their factories, too. But most seemed resigned to a cold reality: It would be impossible for Trump to strike individual deals with every company planning to move work out of the country.

Rexnord finalizes plan to close Indianapolis plant as union leader blasts 'corporate greed'

“Dealing with individual companies isn’t going to work. There’s just too many companies,” said Michael Mobley, a shipping department employee at Matthews-Aurora Funeral Solutions, where job cuts are happening as the company consolidates production of some caskets at a factory in Monterrey, Mexico.

Matthews-Aurora laid off 50 to 60 workers in southeastern Indiana, including 35 to 40 members of the local boilermakers union, when it eliminated the factory’s second shift in September, said Mobley, who is vice president of the union.

An additional 15 jobs will be cut early next year, a company official told IndyStar.

Mobley said the company told union officials that workers in Monterrey are paid $3.15 an hour. The dramatically lower labor costs in Mexico were also a key factor in Carrier’s initial decision to shut down its Indianapolis operations.

But Mobley said he never expected the plight of his fellow workers in Aurora to catch Trump’s attention, given the smaller scope of the layoffs.

“They hear 35 to 40 jobs here, and they think that’s just normal business,” he said. “You lose 35 to 40, and that’s actually pretty good. At least they kept our plant open. But then you multiply that by the number of plants going across the border, and it adds up.”

Trump’s approach so far — targeting individual companies — is “wildly impractical,” said Anson Soderbery, an economics professor at Purdue University.

“Not only is it impractical, it’s potentially dangerous,” he said, because it requires picking winners and losers.

Soderbery also expressed concern about the protectionist trade policies Trump has said he would implement.

“Are you willing to keep all your jobs in Indiana if the cost of your goods doubles?” he said. “Unilateral protectionism doesn’t promote specialization and growth.”

Other experts say that Trump’s direct intervention with specific companies is a useful strategy until he can take office and implement broader tax or regulatory reforms.

“I think he realizes that is the ultimate solution,” said Steve Jones, a finance professor at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business in Indianapolis. “But until you can get the legislation in place to create a more hospitable business environment, I don’t think it’s a bad thing to reach out to these CEOs.”

But so far, Trump and his team have not committed to any further interventions.

During an appearance over the weekend on ABC’s “This Week,” Pence said Trump would “make those decisions on a day-by-day basis in the course of the transition, in the course of the administration.”

As Trump touts Carrier deal, others with endangered jobs wonder, 'What about us?'

Call IndyStar reporter Tony Cook at (317) 444-6081. Follow him on Twitter: @indystartony.

Thousands of jobs still leaving Indiana

Thousands of Hoosier workers are still bracing for layoffs as their companies shift production to other countries. Here are nine companies planning to reduce their Indiana workforce.

Rexnord Industries

Location: Indianapolis

Layoffs: 300

The Milwaukee-based industrial supplier is planning to close its Indianapolis bearings plant by June, dislocating about 300 union workers who make an average of $25 an hour. The company has said it is moving the jobs to Monterrey, Mexico. 

Regal-Beloit Corp.

Location: Monticello

Layoffs: 35 to 40

The Wisconsin-based industrial supplier is laying off 35 workers as it shifts production to Guadalajara, Mexico, according to media reports and a petition employees filed with the U.S. Office of Trade Adjustment Assistance. The Monticello Herald Journal said 40 jobs would be cut by early 2017.

Harman Professional Inc.

Location: Elkhart

Layoffs: 125

The audio equipment manufacturer is moving production operations to Tijuana, Mexico, starting in January 2017, according to a TAA petition filed by the company. The transition is expected to occur in phases and will be completed by June 2017, according to the South Bend Tribune and other media reports.

Carrier Corp.

Location: Indianapolis

Layoffs: About 600

Despite Trump’s intervention, which resulted in 800 jobs staying at the furnace maker's west-side plant, the company will still send fan coil production to its factory in Monterrey, Mexico.

United Technologies Electronic Controls

Location: Huntington

Layoffs: 700

This affiliate of Carrier’s parent company, United Technologies, is sticking to its plans to terminate employees over the next two years as it moves production to Monterrey, Mexico.

Manitowoc Beverage

Location: Sellersburg

Layoffs: 84

The maker of soft drink dispensers is ending production operations at its Indiana plant and moving most of the work to a factory in Tijuana, Mexico. In a letter to state and local officials, the company said its Sellersburg employees would be terminated in stages through Jan. 31.

CTS Corp.

Location: Elkhart

Layoffs: 230

The auto parts supplier is moving production to Mexico, China and Taiwan, eliminating 230 positions at its Elkhart plant from January 2017 to mid-2018, the company said in a statement and a TAA petition.

Matthews-Aurora Casket Co.

Location: Aurora

Layoffs: 15

Union representatives said the company recently cut 50 to 60 jobs after eliminating the plant’s second shift and moving production of some products to Mexico. A spokeswoman for parent company Matthews International said about 15 additional jobs will be cut in the coming months. That work will be performed at facilities in other states, she said.

TRW Automotive

Location: Lafayette

Layoffs: 65

In a notice to the state, the auto parts supplier disclosed its plans to lay off 65 employees on Jan. 15. The layoffs occurred because “production has been shifted to China,” according to a TAA petition filed by the union that represents workers at the plant.