Trump’s pick for Commerce Dept. offshored 2,700 jobs: Report
President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Commerce Department, billionaire Wilbur Ross, has built his wealth in part by running businesses that have moved thousands of US jobs abroad.
Ross, known for his investment in flailing companies, has offshored some 2,700 jobs in the textile, auto and finance industries since 2004 at a time when the US economy was losing more than 100,000 jobs every year, according to records obtained by the Reuters news agency through a Freedom of Information Act request.
A confirmation hearing on his nomination in the Senate is set for Wednesday.
Ross's track record in business is in contrast with Trump's campaign promise to protect American workers from the negative effects of global trade.
Trump had made the issue of offshoring jobs a centerpiece of his presidential campaign and criticized trade agreements like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for taking jobs away from US citizens.
Ross did not respond to several requests by Reuters for comment, the news outlet said.
"He is not the man to be protecting American workers when he's shipping this stuff overseas himself," said Don Coy, who lost his job late last year at International Automotive Components Group, a company established by Ross.
The IAC shut a factory in Ohio and shifted production of rubber floor mats to Mexico, firing the remaining workers in a factory that once had 450 employees.
However, Ross has argued in favor of Trump’s view that free-trade agreements hurt the US economy.
"When Ford offshores new production facilities to Mexico, that both boosts the Mexican economy and reduces investment in this country," he wrote in an opinion peace for The Washington Post published in September.
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