A Mexican administrator in the city where Carrier Corp. jobs were supposed to go remarked that President-elect Donald Trump is “telling the truth” when he vows to protect American jobs, CNBC reports.
Trump scored a major PR win this week when he successfully convinced Carrier Corp. to preserve 1,069 manufacturing jobs in the United States. The air conditioning unit producer had intended to move these jobs from Indianapolis to Mexico.
The secretary of economic development of Santa Catarina, Jaime Garcia Astorga, stated that people were surprised at Trump’s effectiveness. He said, “nobody” believed Trump when “he made a lot of declarations” about stopping American companies from firing U.S. employees, in order to make use of cheaper labor south of the border.
The official reflected that the case of Carrier Corp should be a “learning experience lesson for [his] city.”
The Obama administration on Friday gloated over a seemingly favorable jobs report — unemployment has fallen to 4.6 percent. However, since 2000 the U.S. has lost 5 million manufacturing jobs. It is in part this issue that propelled Trump to electoral victory on Nov. 8.
Mexico is an attractive destination for manufacturers, like Carrier. There workers are paid as little as $3 an hour.