The day after President Trump’s tariffs went into effect, in what he celebrated as “Liberation Day,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick appeared on CBS Mornings where he was asked: “So how long do we have to wait for the benefits to come pouring in?”
Note: Members of the Trump administration including Lutnick dispute many top economists who say the President’s sweeping tariffs applied to dozens of countries are a potentially damaging economic action, and claim instead that Trump knows what he’s doing and that his plan might be painful for Americans at first but will pay off in the long run. Or as Trump says, they will “Make American Rich Again.”
Lutnick replied, “We have about $5 trillion of committed investment in America…that means people are gonna start building factories right now. And that means all that construction work begins now. That starts to employ Americans today. You’re gonna start to see plants being built, factories rebuilding…You’re gonna see employment leaping starting today.”
“You’re going to see employment leaping starting now”. – Retardio Lutnick
— Spencer Hakimian (@SpencerHakimian) April 3, 2025
And his final ounce of credibility is officially gone.
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Not all Americans agree with Lutnick’s rosy outlook. Several noted that American appliance manufacturer Whirlpool just let go of one-third of their workers at a factory in Iowa. One replied: “leaping to … unemployment? Looks like Whirlpool in Iowa and Stellantis got a head start on that today!”
On “Liberation Day,” Stellantis — maker of iconic American auto brands Jeep and Ram trucks — announced that on Monday it will halt production at an assembly factory in Canada and Mexico due to Trump’s 25% tariff on imported vehicles. The pause at those plants will also result in the temporary layoff of 900 U.S. employees at five of its U.S. facilities located in Michigan and Indiana. (Stellantis is also temporarily taking a Michigan factory offline, affecting 1,000 workers, due to an engine shortage for Ram trucks — this pause is not tariff-related.)
Check out Whirlpool in Iowa. At one of their plants, they let go 1/3 of their workers. 1/3.
— Benzo (@Benzo_ForReal) April 3, 2025
Note: Whirlpool Corp. announced that it is laying off 651 workers, about one-third of the company’s workforce of 2,000 employees from its Amana manufacturing facility effective June 1. In a statement, Whirlpool blamed the layoffs on reduced consumer demand, primarily for refrigeration units.
Iowa Senate Democratic Leader Janice Weiner responded to the Whirlpool announcement: “Alarm bells should be sounding in our communities.” She added: “Our agriculture economy is worsening, on-again-off-again tariffs are exacerbating existing issues, and Iowans hardly go a week without seeing another round of layoffs.”
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