INDIANAPOLIS— Air conditioning company Carrier said Tuesday that it had reached a deal with President-elect Donald Trump to keep nearly 1,000 jobs in Indiana.
A transition official confirmed that the president-elect and Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who is ending his tenure as Indiana governor, would appear with Carrier officials Thursday to unveil the agreement. The official insisted on anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the trip ahead of an official announcement.
Here is a statement from Carrier:
Carrier has had very productive conversations in recent days with President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Pence.
We have negotiated an agreement with the incoming administration that we believe benefits our workers, the state of Indiana and our company.
We are announcing today that Carrier will continue to manufacture gas furnaces in Indianapolis, in addition to retaining engineering and headquarters staff, preserving more than 1,000 jobs.
Carrier will also designate its Indianapolis manufacturing facility as a Center of Excellence for gas furnace production, with a commitment to making significant investments to continue to maintain a world-class furnace factory.
Today’s announcement is possible because the incoming Trump-Pence administration has emphasized to us its commitment to support the business community and create an improved, more competitive U.S. business climate. The incentives offered by the state were an important consideration.
This agreement in no way diminishes our belief in the benefits of free trade and that the forces of globalization will continue to require solutions for the long-term competitiveness of the U.S. and of American workers moving forward.
Trump said last week that he was “making progress” on trying to get Carrier to stay in Indiana versus going to Mexico.
Carrier previously announced in February that it would close two Indiana plants — the Carrier plant in Indianapolis that employs 1,400 workers and a United Technologies Electronic Controls plant in nearby Huntington, Indiana, that employs 700.
The company, which manufactures heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration systems, planned to send work to Mexico starting next year. That move would have saved it $65 million a year in labor costs, according to the union that represents the workers.
Trump spent much of his campaign pledging to keep companies like Carrier, which is owned by United Technologies, from moving jobs overseas. His focus on manufacturing jobs contributed to his unexpected appeal to working-class voters in states like Michigan, which has long voted for Democrats in presidential elections.
The details of the agreement were unclear. Carrier tweeted that the company was “pleased to have reached a deal” with Trump and Pence to keep the jobs in Indianapolis.
United Technologies is a leading defense contractor that benefits from billions of dollars in federal spending, so it needs to maintain good relations with the incoming Trump administration.
United Technologies collects about $5.6 billion in annual revenue from U.S. government contracts, according to company filings, which is equal to about 10 percent of its overall revenue.
The event in Indiana will mark a rare public appearance for Trump, who has spent nearly his entire tenure as president-elect huddled with advisers and meeting with possible Cabinet secretaries. He plans to make other stops later this week as part of what advisers have billed as a “thank you” tour for voters who backed him in the presidential campaign.
CNN contributed to this report.
