Wal-Mart and General Motors won the blessing of President-elect Donald Trump after they announced plans to add jobs in the U.S.
Whether the announcements really amounted to anything new is debatable and the additional jobs represent only a small increase in the companies’ total U.S. workforces. Wal-Mart will add 10,000 jobs this year while GM announced $1 billion in investment that would create 1,500 U.S. jobs.
But U.S. corporations have recently been eager to tout their commitment to creating domestic jobs, with Amazon, for example, announcing 100,000 positions nationwide last week.
Wal-Mart’s move “comes as many companies fear being lashed by Trump,” Fortune noted. “The President-elect … has used Twitter to take to task U.S. companies that manufacture products abroad destined for the American market, or that have outsourced jobs.”
Trump duly used Twitter on Tuesday to express his gratitude to Wal-Mart and GM. “Thank you to General Motors and Walmart for starting the big jobs push back into the U.S.!” he said in a tweet.
As Reuters reports, Wal-Mart had announced a $6.8 billion capital spending plan in October. The additional 10,000 jobs, equal to less than 1 percent of its U.S. workforce, are part of that plan, with the vast majority of the positions being in Walmart and Sam’s Club stores.
“With a presence in thousands of communities and a vast supplier network, we know we play an important role in supporting and creating American jobs,” a Wal-Mart spokesman said in a news release.
Wal-Mart last year cut 10,000 store jobs after closing its 154 Walmart Express stores, and some 7,000 back-office positions were also cut. But the company told The Wall Street Journal that overall headcount is rising.
GM, meanwhile, said it would invest an additional $1 billion in its U.S. factories and shift some production from Mexico — moves that will create or retain 1,500 jobs. Company officials said the announcement reflected existing plans, not new decisions.