Donald Trump Says General Motors Will Not Be Treated Well

President Donald Trump has already expressed his disappointment and anger over General Motors’ announcement of closing factories in Michigan, Ohio, and Maryland and eliminating about 14,000 jobs as part of its business restructuring plans.

Taking the matter ahead, Trump on Thursday said the car making company’s decision to shift much of its focus to electric vehicles will not succeed.

During an interview with Fox News’ Harris Faulkner, Trump said he was upset with GM’s plan to restructure its global business which includes halting production at five facilities in North America and slashing its workforce.

He lashed out against General Motors CEO Mary Barra, calling her actions nasty as she announced the factory-closing plan shortly before the holidays.

“I don’t like what she did,” Trump said,  reported Reuters. “It was nasty. Ohio is going to replace those jobs in two minutes.”

He said he will ensure that the U.S. automaker isn’t treated well.

“To tell me a couple weeks before Christmas that she’s going to close in Ohio and Michigan — not acceptable to me,” Trump said. “And she’s either going to open fast or somebody else is going in. But General Motors is not going to be treated well.”

The US President went on to criticize the automaker’s use of Mexican labor and said the recently signed United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement “really makes it uncomfortable for people to go out of the country, and I think it will be very uncomfortable for them.”

In response, GM has rolled out an official statement ensuring that the company’s focus will remain on the employees currently working at the impacted plants in Maryland, Michigan and Ohio. The statement added that its announcement was timed to provide the impacted employees with job opportunities that are available at other GM plants beginning in early 2019.