Donald Trump’s sideshow trade war with China is a roiling disaster. On Tuesday reports came out that US Steel, the strong-like-ox jingoistic symbol of Trump’s America First policies, was downsizing due to … Trump’s America First policies. And while the trade war tariffs as well as outdated infrastructure are the cause of US Steel’s profit problems, the fact of the matter is that any and every move by Trump and the Republican Party have led to the downsizing of decent American jobs. Whether it has been outrageous tax breaks for the “job creators” or their corporations, deregulated markets, and rolled-back consumer protections, nothing Republicans have done under the current administration has boosted the markets.
Here’s a short list of some of the downsizing, the slowdowns, and the broken promises over the past couple of years of Trump et al:
- Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corp. abruptly laid off a few hundred employees. Surprise winning!
- When Tenet Healthcare announced that it would lay off about 1,300 workers, Republicans went into action to pass the big corporate tax breaks. After those tax breaks, Tenet announced it would be laying off 2,000 workers.
- General Motors announced layoffs as well as plant closures in November. Can you say w-i-n-n-i-n-g?
- Ford, blaming Trump’s tariff’s, announced plans to lay off lots of workers.
- Pfizer, already stashing tons of money offshore to get out of taxes anyway, took the additional tax breaks and cut scientists’ jobs, shutting down entire sections of their research.
- Harley-Davidson also cited Trump’s trade war tariffs when it closed down a Kansas City plant in January 2018. Start your engines, gentlemen … for winning!
- Walmart closed down 60 Sam’s Club stores in order to keep Trump and the Republicans’ winning streak alive.
- Citibank says that they could downsize about 10,000 jobs over the next five years. That may not sound like growth to you, but what do you know about winning?
Financial institutions cutting back after receiving a reported $21 billion tax cut windfall is just par for the course, as Bloomberg reported in February. In fact, since January 2019, here are “finance firms” that have cut jobs:
- JPMorgan Chase & Co. is dismissing hundreds of workers in its asset and wealth-management division as part of a periodic review of staffing levels.
- Nomura Holdings Inc. is planning to cut dozens of jobs across its trading and investment-banking businesses in Europe and the U.S. as the brokerage struggles to make a profit overseas.
- Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank are in talks to combine in a merger that could put as many as 30,000 jobs at risk.
- Goldman Sachs Group Inc.is considering plans to reduce its core trading business in the fixed-income group, including at least 10 workersin its commodities unit. The firm toldNew York State in February that it will eliminate 65 jobs, blaming “economic” factors.
- Standard Bank Group Ltd. expects to close 91 branches across South Africa, most by the end of June, in a move that may affect about 1,200 employees.
- Absa Group Ltd. is restructuring its South African retail and business-banking unit within months of reducing the division’s management team. Union representatives have said 827 jobs could be at risk.
- Standard Chartered will cut expenses by 2021 in a streamlining plan that may include trimming jobs in Singapore, the Business Times reported.
- London Stock Exchange Group Plc disclosed plans to cut around 5 percent of global headcount.
- Dianrong, a Chinese peer-to-peer lender backed by Tiger Global Management and Standard Chartered Plc, plans to cut as many as 2,000 employees as it tries to reduce costs and comply with authorities’ efforts to shrink the industry.
- Laurentian Bank of Canada said it will cut its workforce by 10 percent after posting earnings that missed estimates for a third straight quarter. Some 350 employees will lose their jobs.
- Societe Generale SA is drawing up plans to eliminate jobs at its investment bank, and could cut hundreds or even thousands of positions at its global banking and investor-solutions unit.
- HSBC Holdings Plc will trim at least 50 jobs in its global banking and market unit as part of an annual performance review of its staff.
- Legg Mason Inc.plans to cut staff as it increases investment in technology to manage assets.
- BlackRock Inc. is cutting 3 percent of its global workforce, or about 500 employees, the largest reduction to its headcount since 2016.
- State Street Corp., the giant custody bank and asset manager, has started trimming its senior management ranks by 15 percent.
- AQR Capital Management, the quant manager, is cutting jobs after a dismal performance in 2018. The reductions will amount to a low single-digit percentage of the workforce of about 1,000 employees.
- Banco Santander SA’s Polish unit announced plans to reduce its workforce by 11 percent, or as many as 1,400 jobs.
- Morgan Stanley dismissed some of its under-performers, with cuts occurring throughout fixed-income, equities and research divisions.
- CaixaBank SA’s formal talks with unions will begin in April, with the company proposing 2,157 job cuts.
These are companies recording billions in profits, and many of them are excitedly touting record profits. You can argue that our economic woes are by design or the unfortunate symptom of conservative free market cultism. Either way, most Americans lose when Republican policies are enacted. Personally, I think that most of them do not care. They are in it to make as much money and collect as much power as they can until they pass off into oblivion. The proof is that no matter the evidence to the contrary, no matter what even their own conservative constituency wants, they continue to rob the rest of us to give to the rich.
