President-elect Donald Trump and Carrier Corp. reached a deal that will keep 1,000 air-conditioner manufacturing jobs in Indiana.
The company, which is owned by United Technologies, announced plans earlier this year to shutter its Indianapolis plant, which employs 1,400 people, and move production to Mexico, CNBC reported.
Terms of the deal haven't been disclosed, however sources told CNBC that it includes economic incentives from Indiana, where Vice President-elect Mike Pence is governor.
The deal is in line with Trump's promise to focus on keeping manufacturing jobs in the country, which appealed to working-class Americans, The Associated Press noted.
In September, Trump criticized Carrier's plans during a presidential debate, saying "So many hundreds and hundreds of companies are doing this. We have to stop our jobs from being stolen from us. We have to stop our companies from leaving the United States," the AP noted.
He also criticized plans of Nabisco's parent, Mondelez International, to replace nine production lines in Chicago with four in Mexico, and Ford's plans to invest in manufacturing facilities in Mexico.
A union official expressed optimism about the Carrier deal.
"I'm optimistic, but I don't know what the situation is. I guess it's a good sign. ... You would think they would keep us in the loop. But we know nothing," Chuck Jones, president of United Steelworkers Local 1999 said, according to the AP.
Trump plans a Thursday appearance in Indianapolis to announce the deal.
"I’m ready for him to come," Carrier worker Robin Maynard told The New York Times. "Now I can put my daughter through college without having to look for another job."
Along with economic incentives from the state, Trump's campaign promises to ease regulations and overhaul the corporate tax code are thought to have contributed to the deal, the Times noted.
"If I weren’t so scared of the damage a Trump administration might do, I’d find it refreshing to see an administration fighting for factory jobs like this," Jared Bernstein, a liberal economist who served as adviser in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2011 told the Times. "That said, no one should confuse what Trump is doing here with sustainable economic policy."
He noted the Carrier deal is small when considering that the U.S. economy has generated 181,000 jobs a month this year.
The company expected to save about $65 million a year by moving production to Mexico, the Times noted, adding that the move also would bring a public relations backlash as well as a threat to United Technologies’ federal government contracts, which amount to about 10 percent of its $56 billion in revenue.
Trump and Carrier Tweeted about the deal on Tuesday.
Twitter users shared mixed reactions.