Rexnord has finalized plans to ship 300 jobs from Indiana to Mexico and close a plant near the Carrier facility where Donald Trump took credit for saving hundreds of jobs.
After the Carrier deal, Trump attacked Rexnord for “rather viciously firing all of its 300 workers.” Some Rexnord workers told CNN they felt left behind by the president-elect.
Rexnord said Friday it will close its Indianapolis plant, which makes metal bearings, in June. The workers will be given a week’s pay for every year at the company, plus $2,000 and six months of health coverage. The layoffs will begin in February.
The workers were making about $25 an hour, said Chuck Jones, president of the union local.
“They’re leaving people high and dry in these places in order to exploit Mexican workers at $3 an hour,” Jones told CNNMoney on Friday. “These people in Monterrey aren’t raising their standard of living out of it.”
“We’re not seeking anything but opportunity to work, and that’s being ripped away from us,” he said.
Jones, who leads United Steelworkers Local 1999, was himself attacked by Trump on Twitter after telling CNNMoney and other news organizations that the president-elect was “lying his a– off” when he claimed he was saving 1,100 jobs at Carrier.
In fact, only 800 factory jobs were saved. The other 300 were white-collar administrative and engineering jobs at another Indianapolis facility, positions Carrier never planned to ship to Mexico. Even after Trump’s support, 550 Carrier jobs are bound for Mexico, Jones said.
Rexnord told CNNMoney that it will create 50 jobs in Texas.
“This has been a very difficult decision, and we understand the human impact it will have on our associates, their families and the Indianapolis community,” the company said in a statement. “It is our intent to provide support and transition service for our impacted associates during this difficult time.”
Trump’s office did not return a message from CNNMoney.
