U.S. manufacturers are still shedding thousands of jobs, as workers ask White House for help
CBSN
About 350 Whirlpool factory workers in rural Iowa will lose their jobs on March 9 — a blow to a community where the plant has anchored the local economy for eight decades. The layoffs are also another sign of U.S. manufacturers' ongoing struggles, which have persisted despite the Trump administration's pledge to revive the sector. Edited by Alain Sherter In:
About 350 Whirlpool factory workers in rural Iowa will lose their jobs on March 9 — a blow to a community where the plant has anchored the local economy for eight decades. The layoffs are also another sign of U.S. manufacturers' ongoing struggles, which have persisted despite the Trump administration's pledge to revive the sector.
In April of 2025, President Trump said that "jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country" due to his tariff policies, which sharply raised taxes on imports from nearly every U.S. trading partner. Although some companies have responded to the tariffs by promising to invest in the U.S., building those factories could take years. Such commitments are also nonbinding, leaving it unclear when, or if, such projects will be shovel-ready.
In the meantime, employment data shows American manufacturers are continuing to cut jobs, with the U.S. shedding 83,000 manufacturing jobs during Mr. Trump's first year in office. Economists point to a range of factors for the job losses, including automation, long-standing headwinds from lower wages overseas to increased costs and economic uncertainty partially caused by the Trump administration's tariffs. Those import duties have hurt some U.S. manufacturers that rely on imported parts and goods to make their products domestically.
The union that represents the workers at Whirlpool's Amana, Iowa, plant appealed to Mr. Trump for help in a Feb. 24 letter, citing his "America First" manufacturing pledge and asking him to "demand that Whirlpool halt these planned layoffs." The labor group said it hasn't yet received a response from the White House.
"This is a story that needs to be told to the American public," Brian Bryant, international president of the International Association of Machinists (IAM), the union that represents about 1,300 Whirlpool workers, told CBS News. "Everything's not rosy in this country, and every day, workers' jobs are still in jeopardy by corporations that favor profits over the workforce."
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